Marine terminal, gas station sites targeted for cleanup fuds

PASCO — The federal EPA has awarded Benton-Franklin Council of Governments a $600,000 Brownfields Assessment Coalition Grant.

The funds pay for 12 Phase I and eight Phase II environmental site assessments and to develop cleanup and reuse plans of contaminated sites.

Priority sites for cleanup include a former gas station and riverfront marine terminal here, the former Vista Field Airport and abandoned riverfront properties in Kennewick; and the Columbia River Landfill site and Uptown Shopping Center in Richland.

The grant was one of nine awarded in Region 10, which includes Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Nearly $4.1 million were allocated in the region.

Nationwide, 151 communities were selected to receive grant awards totaling $66.5 million.