City gets $400,000 to assess Sweetwater industrial sites

FLORENCE - The federal government has awarded Florence two grants totaling $400,000 to assess land historically used for industry, known as brownfields, and now of interest for redevelopment.

The money, applied through the city planning department and granted through the Environmental Protection Agency, will be used to test soils for contamination from industries predominantly in the Sweetwater district in east Florence.

Of this year's grants, only three were awarded in Alabama. Florence received two of the three while the third was awarded to the city of Valley.

The federal brownfields money gives cities a chance at rejuvenating unused industrial land that may have environmental problems from its previous industrial use.

"A grant like this is beneficial to a community where you have an environmental problem that is sitting there really doing no good," Mayor Bobby Irons said.

The two grants, each worth $200,000, will be used to assess hazardous substances and petroleum waste, but will not be used for clean-up efforts, said Florence City Planner Melissa Bailey. Brownfield cleanup would require either private funding or clean-up grant funding.

City officials expect to use the grant mainly to test the extent of industrial contamination in the Sweetwater Arts and Entertainment District in east Florence that was rezoned in 2007.

"When you're looking at $200,000, a lot of property owners don't have the money lying around to do this testing," said Bailey, whose department applied for the grant in consultation with PM Environmental Inc.

Councilman Hermon Graham, who represents the east Florence district, said one of the reasons to pursue the grant was to test land formerly owned by Richards Metal Plating. The city has an option to buy the land and has considered developing it as a parking lot for the arts and entertainment district, Graham said.

The Sweetwater district once had a mill, a foundry and a rail yard, Graham said.

"It's good that this city is respected enough that they're going to put a $400,00 grant here," Irons said.

Sheffield also applied this year for the highly competitive grants, but did not receive funding.

"For Alabama to receive two (grants) in the same community, it speaks volumes," Bailey said.