Brownfields grant sought to clean up West Lafayette Street lot in Ottawa

The city of Ottawa is looking to clean up one of its longtime inactive properties, and it may come with a hefty price tag for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Ottawa City Council on Tuesday conducted a public hearing required for its application for a U.S. EPA Brownfields grant regarding cleanup of the dormant property at 429 W. Lafayette St.

The hearing included a presentation of the area’s history, work already done and options for the cleanup by Fehr Graham geologist and project manager Ross Grimes. His firm later was approved by the council to oversee the project.

The city’s desire to remediate that land – 0.81 acres just east of the railroad tracks that over the years has been contaminated by various businesses with a variety of toxic chemicals – could turn into an effort in excess of $2 million. However, that entire amount could be covered by the grant, if awarded.

The 2023 and 2024 environmental assessment of the soil revealed heavy metals (arsenic, beryllium, lead and mercury, among others); semi-volatile organic compounds (benzanthracene and others); and pesticide (toxaphene) levels above “Tiered Approach to Corrective Action” remediation objectives.

The North Central Illinois Council of Governments suggested it enroll the area in the U.S. EPA Brownfields Program and take one of three paths to remediation, the first being to do no remediation at all.

The second option is to excavate 3 to 5 feet of the soil over the entire site, and install a clean soil barrier with aggregate backfill and engineered barriers in the form of HMA parking lot and concrete slabs.

That plan, including taking the contaminated soil to an approved landfill, comes with an estimated price tag of $2,432,930.

A third option – and the one recommended by the NCICG – is to do a limited excavation to 18 inches designated for hardscape and backfill with aggregate with the parking lot and concrete slabs. The remaining areas would be excavated to 2 feet for green space. A geofabric would be installed with clean aggregate and topsoil.

The cost of this plan is estimated at $1,243,270.

In the competitive process, requests can go up to $4 million, with no city match of funds required. The application deadline is Nov. 14, with the awards made in May.

The council also heard a presentation from the NCICG’s Calvin Crow regarding a Community Development Block Grant application, seeking funds to help with the ongoing Illinois EPA-mandated wastewater and storm-sewer separation projects in the Canal Street area.

Aiding the city’s $1.24 million sewer renovation project, the grant, if awarded, would cover a portion of the construction costs for 3,400 feet of new storm sewers, 16 manholes, adjusting water mains and restoring roads. The new system would direct rainwater away from the wastewater treatment plant, preventing the overburdening of the plant in heavy storms by sending it directly into the Illinois and Fox rivers.