ADEQ takes first steps toward cleaning SOTC Park
Hires environmental contractor to assess damages.

<i>Photo by Christyl Buckles</i>
<b>The Arizona Department of Enivronmental Quality has taken the first step in cleaning up the Standin¹ on the Corner Park by hiring an environmental consultant. The park has been surronded by a fence since it burned in 2004 to keep the public out of harm¹s way. The consultant will assess the extent of the damage to the building.</b>

<i>Photo by Christyl Buckles</i> <b>The Arizona Department of Enivronmental Quality has taken the first step in cleaning up the Standin¹ on the Corner Park by hiring an environmental consultant. The park has been surronded by a fence since it burned in 2004 to keep the public out of harm¹s way. The consultant will assess the extent of the damage to the building.</b>

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has taken the first steps towards cleaning up the fire-damaged building that has caused the "Standin' on the Corner" park in Winslow to be closed for more than a year.

ADEQ Director Steve Owens said that ADEQ has selected an environmental contractor to assess the extent of damage to the building, determine if asbestos-containing materials are present in the rubble and develop a plan for removing the debris.

ADEQ's goal is to have the cleanup completed by June 30, 2006 or shortly thereafter.

Owens said if the contractor's work progresses smoothly, the monument could reopen in time for the Standin' on the Corner Festival in October 2006.

"The park and mural are centerpieces of the community in Winslow and we want to do whatever we can to help get the park reopened," Owens said.

The park was closed after a fire gutted the former J.C. Penney/Rasco Building in October 2004.

The mural on an exterior wall is an integral part of the park, but fire damage rendered the wall unstable, making the park unsafe for visitors.

Concerns about potential asbestos contamination in the charred rubble have prevented efforts to remove the debris and reopen the park.

ADEQ is using funding available under the federal Brownfields program to assess and clean up the site.

Since its inception in 1995, EPA's Brownfields Program has changed the way contaminated property is perceived, addressed, and managed.

The program is designed to empower states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields.

A brownfield is a property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.

It is estimated that there are more than 450,000 brownfields in the U.S. Cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties increases local tax bases, facilitates job growth, utilizes existing infrastructure, takes development pressures off of undeveloped, open land, and both improves and protects the environment.

Initially, the EPA provided small amounts of seed money to local governments that launched hundreds of two-year brownfield "pilot" projects.

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