A federal grant will help continue the clean up at a vacant industrial site in Keokuk.
The U.S. EPA Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup Grant program has awarded the city more than $4.4 million to clear the Elkem-Carbide site at 365 Carbide Lane.
“We are really excited and thrilled that the EPA, the Environmental Protection Agency, has awarded their Brownfield cleanup grant, that is funded by their bipartisan infrastructure law, to the city of Keokuk,” Mayor Kathie Mahoney said.
The 9.6-acre lot had been home to industrial plants through the years but has been vacant since 2007. Mahoney said the cleanup should help lure new economic development there.
“This grant will enable us to not only address environmental challenges, but also create new opportunities for economic growth and community development,” she said.
“We look forward to the positive impact this project will have on our community and beyond.”
The grant was made possible by 2021 bipartisan legislation, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said this grant is important for the future of his constituents in the Hawkeye State.
“This needed investment will boost public health and economic development across Iowa by transforming once-polluted sites intro thriving community assets,” Grassley said, in a released statement. “I supported the bipartisan infrastructure bill with the health and safety of Iowans in mind. I’m glad our state continues to see a return on that investment.”
The city also received a $2 million federal grant last year to pay for cleaning up a portion of the site.
The Elkem-Carbide site was initially used for zinc smelting and lead alloying.
In 1929, the site began manufacturing carbide, and then carbon products by the 1950s.
Today, heavy metals and inorganic materials pollute the site.
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