At a ceremony held September 8, 2006, during Route 66 Days, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded a $200,000 brownfield grant to the city of Flagstaff, Arizona, to assess potential petroleum-contaminated sites along Route 66.

Photo by Kevin Doran

The city will use the funds to inventory sites along the Route 66 Central Corridor, perform environmental site assessments, develop a comprehensive redevelopment plan, and conduct community outreach. The city expects to focus on sites in the Southside neighborhood and Plaza Vieja.

“The grant being awarded to Flagstaff today will fund projects that pave the way for economic redevelopment in a key part of central Flagstaff, and provide a better life for Flagstaff’s minority and disadvantaged citizens through better jobs, affordable housing, cultural enrichment, neighborhood revitalization, and health protection,” said Flagstaff Mayor Joseph C. Donaldson.

During Route 66’s heyday, gas stations along the highway bustled with motorists, but interstates replaced large sections of the old route in the 1970s. The steady flow of travelers stopped, and gas stations were shuttered and abandoned. Old and sometimes leaking underground storage tank systems were often left in the ground, where they could contaminate soil and surrounding groundwater.

In Arizona, approximately 350 leaking underground storage tanks sites have been reported along the route. A disproportionate number of abandoned or contaminated sites are located in the center of Flagstaff, along the Route 66 Central Corridor.

In June 2004, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) launched its Route 66 Initiative to investigate and clean up leaking underground tank sites. To date, 273 sites have been closed, with cleanup completed or not needed. Nearly 80 sites, or 22 percent, still need further investigation or cleanup. In November, the EPA officially joined ADEQ’s efforts to explore ways to help local communities redevelop and create more businesses along the corridor.