The City of Belfast was awarded a $400,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These funds will be used on ‘brownfield’ sites located within Belfast; these are abandoned or underutilized industrial and commercial sites that possess economic redevelopment/reuse potential, where that potential is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination. Specifically, the City will use these funds to inventory brownfield sites, conduct environmental assessments, conduct site reuse and cleanup planning, and perform community outreach and engagement activities.
Much of the work of the grant, particularly the environmental assessment and site reuse and cleanup planning activities, will be carried out by what is referred to as a ‘Qualified Environmental Professional.’ The next step in carrying out this grant is to hire that Qualified Environmental Professional.
To that end, the City of Belfast has established an ad hoc committee that would do the following: 1) create a Request for Proposals/Request for Qualifications (or update/revise the City’s existing one); 2) advertise the Request for Proposals/Request for Qualifications; 3) review Proposals/Qualifications received; 4) if deemed to be necessary, hold interviews of firms; and 5) present a recommendation to contract with a selected Qualified Environmental Professional for the City Council to approve, at a future meeting.
If you have interest in submitting an application to serve on this committee, or have questions regarding this committee, please contact Belfast Economic Development Director Thomas Kittredge via phone at 338-3370, extension 16, or via e-mail at economicdevelopment@cityofbelfast.org.