Through a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Metro offers financial assistance to property owners, potential buyers or developers to conduct assessments on properties that are or may be brownfields. The brownfields program ensures compliance with EPA standards and strong stewardship of resources. The program is overseen by a Metro project manager who monitors and tracks all expenditures and site work on behalf of the grant. Additionally, the program is overseen by a Region 10 EPA Project Officer and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s Northwest Region Brownfield Coordinator.
This grant is part of larger regional and statewide efforts to address brownfields. Since 2014, Metro has led a statewide Oregon Brownfield Coalition that represents diverse interests. The coalition’s legislative workgroup advocates for brownfield land bank formation, continued funding for the statewide brownfield program, implementation of local brownfield property tax incentive programs and a statewide income tax credit for brownfield assessment and cleanup.
Partnerships and community engagement
Metro works with 24 cities and three counties as well as a wide array of community-based organizations, to plan for a more equitable future. An important part of this planning is identifying and targeting brownfield properties for cleanup and redevelopment.
The brownfields program engages with community, including historically under-represented groups, in activities such as:
- sharing project information and opportunities for public input
- supporting engagement staff and contractors with community surveys
- conducting community education activities at assessment sites
- targeting outreach and input opportunities to historically underrepresented groups
- building capacity of youth and local residents to learn about careers in environmental remediation