MIDWESTERN REPORT
One of Iowa’s biggest brownfield projects was recently recognized with a 2007 Region 7 Phoenix Award. The Iowa River Landing revitalization project, a joint effort between Coralville, Iowa, and engineering firm Terracon Consultants, Inc., was among 10 sites across the country highlighted as outstanding brownfield projects.

The project, started in 1998, consists of several small parcels that, combined, amount to over 200 acres. Since receiving its first grant, the site has gone through due diligence and a series of Phase 1 and 2 assessments. Terracon was involved with various community outreach and education efforts, and assisted both the EPA and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources with sampling and implementing a corrective plan.

Most of the contaminants found have been lead and arsenic deposits, courtesy of a former industrial park once located there. Fifty acres of land acquired by Coralville have already been redeveloped; so far a hotel, convention center, several restaurants, and a parking complex have been built with the assistance of private developers.

Terracon’s Ed Birch, the site’s project manager, estimates that the initial acreage is 50 percent clear in accordance to state rules and needs no further remediation.

The good news comes in the midst of a state budget crisis as Iowa struggles to secure more funding for its brownfield program. The state allocates $500,000 for remediation work, which isn’t enough to clean up Iowa’s 4,000 brownfield sites. Several state politicians, including Rep. Phil Wise, are sponsoring a bill that would create more incentives by allotting as much as $10 million a year in state tax credits.

Still, Birch says that the state’s money woes aren’t affecting the Iowa River project, since most of the funding comes from municipal and federal coffers. Coralville has received seven EPA Brownfield Assessment Grants amounting to over $1.1 million for cleanup and redevelopment efforts.

The 2007 Phoenix Award winners will be honored at Brownfields 2008 in Detroit, Mich., in May. One grand prize winner and first runner-up winner will be selected from among the 10 sites recognized.