Siskiyou County to join coalition to clean up polluted sites

The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to join a coalition with Weed, Yreka and Montague to bring in big money through the Environmental Protection Agency.

The funds are available through the EPA’s brownfields program, which targets properties in need of cleanup of legacy pollution issues in order to be returned to commercial viability.

According to Community Development Director Greg Plucker, the grant would provide $600,000 for a three-year period during which a number of sites must be assessed using the funding.

The funds would be utilized to develop inventories of brownfields, prioritizing sites, conducting site assessments and cleanup planning related to those sites.

While the funds would not be available for the actual cleanup of the sites, Plucker said that they can pave the way for future funding for cleanup activities.

As part of the coalition, the county would be able to provide input on potential sites to assess, as well as the setting of priorities for the actual work.

The city of Weed would be the lead agency on the grant, administering and managing the grant funds, as well as ensuring the funds are used appropriately.

The first step will be the preparation of a Memorandum of Understanding between the county and three cities, which will have to return to the board for approval.

Brownfield sites exist in numerous locations around the county, and a number have been assessed and converted in recent years. The current site of Yreka’s Tractor Supply is one of the most recent examples of a former brownfield site being returned to viability.