Palmetto receives EPA grant to clean brownfield along Manatee River
PALMETTO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has chosen Palmetto’s Community Redevelopment Agency for a $200,000 brownfield cleanup grant to be applied toward property at 505 Fifth St. W., long known as the Edenfield property.
The 1.5 acres of pristine land along the Manatee River has been virtually useless due to its brownfield status. It once was the site of a CSX Railroad storage yard where creosote-soaked railroad ties were stored. Since acquiring the property in 2014 from the city, the CRA has been working toward assessing the hazards and planning the cleanup.
Cardno TBE is the environmental consultant doing the work and an assessment was completed last year that revealed signs of arsenic, a naturally occurring event, as well the presence of chemicals typical of a freight train storage yard.
Mayor Shirley Groover Bryant said the city will continue to work with Cardno, “to environmentally rehabilitate the Edenfield property. We are excited to partner once again with the EPA. This will give our Redevelopment Agency another prime location in which to work.”