The Economic Development Authority of Columbia County (EDACC), during its monthly meeting Wednesday morning, voted to partner with the Augusta Economic Development Authority (AEDA) and the Development Authority of Burke County (DABC) to find contaminated sites in the CSRA.
Project manager Stuart Hilsman explained to the board that AEDA would be applying on EDACC’s behalf for approximately $1.4 million in Brownfields Assessment Grants, funding from the Environmental Protection Agency designated for planning and cleanup projects at brownfield sites, or previously developed but currently vacant land contaminated by hazardous materials.
The coalition between the three development authorities would be identifying such sites, with the aid of environmental consulting firm PPM Consultants, and discussing remediation tactics after those sites are identified, Hilsman said.
As this coalition would be a federal cost share program, the Columbia County Authority would not have to come put up any cash. However, Hilsman also noted, the timeline for the application is inconvenient, as the EPA cannot provide any funding during the government shutdown, but that the board would need to approve EDACC’s participation in order to move forward once the government is reopened.
Fort Gordon will continue to deliver health and safety services even as appropriations run out amid the shutdown, said Tom Clark, executive director of the CSRA Alliance for Fort Gordon. President Donald Trump’s executive order last week to pay U.S. troops “quieted down a lot of things,” Clark said, though “it continues to be a challenge.”
“Think of it as if you had a business and you had 40 contracts, and now you can’t pay any of them,” said Clark. “It’s a very difficult way to fund an organization, and we hope that the government works through that soon.”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering general reporting for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com
