Soil Clean-Up Emerges as Priority in South Downtown Planning

The City has now held two public scoping sessions to determine public interests and concerns as it moves forward with the South Downtown Subarea Plan.  One major priority emerging from those sessions, and from written comments received is a focus on cleaning up contaminated soil, according to an article this weekend in the TNT. 

The area covered by this planning process contains a large number of contaminated sites.  Property owners and others point out that this contamination will pose a substantial obstacle to the development that the planning process is designed to encourage.  Chemicals from gas stations, drycleaners, and other businesses, as well as building materials in general, will need to be dealt with before new development can occur, and that process is not cheap.

The City has listened to these concerns, and has applied for a $1 million EPA grant in partnership with county, regional, and other local agencies and organizations.  If they are successful, the grant would help begin the process of cleaning up the contaminated soil.  This appears to be one of those seemingly rare opportunities when business and environment concerns align, and both have the opportunity to benefit fromt the same solution.  We’ll have to wait until this spring to find out whether Tacoma will get the money.  Keep your fingers crossed…

Read the story from The News Tribune.

Previously on Exit133:  Public Scoping Meeting:  South Downtown Subarea Plan