Request for Committee Action
A briefing memo explaining the purpose, background, and impact of the requested action.
Access agreements related to environmental grant funding provided by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (RCA-2023-01121)
ORIGINATING DEPARTMENT
To Committee(s)
| # | Committee Name | Meeting Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Business, Inspections, Housing & Zoning Committee | November 9, 2023 |
Action Item(s)
| # | File Type | Subcategory | Item Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Resolution | Contract/Agreement | Passage of Resolution authorizing the Director of the Department of Community Planning and Economic Development to execute access agreements related to environmental grant funding provided by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. |
Previous Actions
None.
Ward / Neighborhood / Address
| # | Ward | Neighborhood | Address |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Not Applicable |
Background Analysis
From time to time, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) makes environmental grant funding available to eligible applicants and projects. The funding in question, which comes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), can be used for Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments, hazardous materials surveys (to identify lead-based paint and asbestos-containing materials), the preparation of Response Action Plans (RAPs), and other eligible investigation/assessment costs.
Private parties and local units of government, including the City of Minneapolis, are eligible applicants for this grant funding. The City may, at some future time, want this kind of funding to be used to develop a better understanding of the environmental condition of certain City-owned properties, to help facilitate their eventual redevelopment. In any such case, the MPCA's standard grant procedures will require City staff to provide the MPCA with an executed Access Agreement (sample copy attached) to document the fact that MPCA-retained environmental contractors have the City's permission to go onto the City's property to conduct environmental testing.
Because this MPCA grant program provides the City and prospective purchasers of City property with opportunities to obtain (at no cost to the City) valuable environmental information about City-owned properties, City staff are proposing that the City Council authorize the CPED Director to execute an MPCA Access Agreement in connection with any award of MPCA environmental grant funding to the City or a potential purchaser of City-owned property.