A.G. Gancarski
One of the recurring issues in this country’s post-industrial epoch is assessing and fixing damage left by manufacturing operations that often have long since ceased operation. There are many consequences, and one such environmental consequence is “brownfields.”
Jacksonville has its share: the old shipyards, and abandoned factories of all types, and pulp mills. The common thread is that the economic raison d’etre is gone. But the ecological devastation remains, a sepia-tinged reminder of what once was and has not been since.
Remediation of such sites has been a slow process, dating back to the 20th century. That said, federal resources will be devoted to local brownfields cleanup in the near future.
A Wednesday afternoon news release from the Mayor Alvin Brown administration said, “The EPA selected Jacksonville for two Brownfields assessment grants. A $200,000 community-wide hazardous substances grant will be used to conduct between eight and 10 environmental site assessments. Community-wide petroleum grant funding totaling $200,000 will be used to conduct six to eight environmental site assessments. The funding will also be used to develop an inventory of Brownfields sites throughout the city, conduct community outreach activities and prepare cleanup and area-wide plans.”
Bear in mind that these are assessment grants, which means that Jacksonville can’t count on Washington to do much beyond inventorying problems in this case. There are, of course, state-level incentive programs to help drive remediation, which include modest tax credits for job creation, low-interest loans to facilitate such development, and expedited permitting.
All of that sounds great, assuming that current economic conditions, in which we have low unemployment rates and bull equity markets prevail.
That’s a big assumption to make.
That said, city leaders are framing the grants in the most optimistic possible terms.
“These grants will help reclaim these important properties, transforming them back into valuable places that will contribute to a better quality of life for Jacksonville neighborhoods,” Brown said.
“Redeveloping our brownfields will help our community, especially in neighborhoods that can really benefit from new jobs and redevelopment. The city and the EPA are providing support that can lead to us cleaning up properties and ultimately provide a benefit to the community,” said Councilman Reggie Brown, who has, according to the official release, “focused on reactivating Brownfields.”
The $400,000 figure sounds like a significant number, until you consider that cities across the country are getting about the same number, as the most cursory Google News search for brownfields reveals. Live Oak, Cocoa, and Missoula, Mont., with much smaller populations and a much less significant history of devastation wrought by industry, are getting the same slice of the federal pie.
To be clear: $400,000 is better than nothing. The salient question is what is done with the money. There is a real argument to be made, also, that considering the city is committed to finally redeveloping its most prominent brownfield, the shipyards that lay dormant just south of downtown on the Riverbank, perhaps the money should all be funneled into that project. One of the many unanswered questions there is the exact scope of financing.
