NARRATIVE INFORMATION SHEET FY2020 Site-Specific Hazardous Substance Brownfield Assessment Grant Application CIT/MEDC – Ko’Kwel Wharf Property 1. Applicant Identification: Coquille Indian Tribe (CIT) Mith-Ih-Kwuh Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) 3201 Tremont Avenue North Bend, OR 97459 CIT/MEDC submitted a Site-Specific grant application for the Ko’Kwel Wharf Property in FY2019 but we were not funded. Using EPA feedback, we have revised and strengthened our approach to assessment, reuse planning, and community outreach for this FY2020 application resubmittal. 2. Funding Requested: a. Assessment Grant Type: Site-Specific b. Federal Funds Requested: $350,000 (waiver of $200,000 limit requested) c. Contamination: Hazardous Substances 3. Property Location: a. City: City of North Bend b. County: Coos County c. State: Oregon (tribally owned lands) 4. Property Information: Ko’Kwel Wharf Property 3050 Tremont Avenue North Bend, OR 97459 Page 1 5. Project Contacts: a. Project Director b. Chief Executive Eric Day Judy Duffy-Metcalf (541) 756-0662 (541) 756-0662 [email protected] [email protected] 3201 Tremont Avenue 3201 Tremont Avenue North Bend, OR 97459 North Bend, OR 97459 6. Population: Number of Tribal Members Affected: 1,150 Number of Non-Tribal Members Affected: 9,765 (population of North Bend) 7. Other Factors Checklist: Other Factors Page # The population of North Bend is 9,765 Community population is 10,000 or less. See Narrative Section 2.a.i (pg. 4) The applicant is, or will assist, a federally recognized Indian Coquille Indian Tribe is the applicant (see Threshold Criteria) tribe or United States territory. The priority brownfield site(s) is impacted by mine-scarred N/A land. The priority site(s) is adjacent to a body of water The property is adjacent to Coos Bay (i.e., the border of the priority site(s) is contiguous See Narrative Section 1.a.ii (pg. 1 and 2) or partially contiguous to the body of water or would be contiguous or partially contiguous with a body of water but for a street, road, or other public thoroughfare separating them). The priority site(s) is in a federally designated flood plain. The property is partially within floodplain See Narrative Section 1.a.ii (pg. 1) The redevelopment of the priority site(s) will Property redevelopment will involve facilitate renewable energy from wind, solar, or green stormwater management geothermal energy; or any energy efficiency and wind energy See Narrative Section 1.b.ii (pg. 3) improvement projects. 30% or more of the overall project budget will be spent on 31% of overall project budget will be eligible reuse planning activities for priority brownfield spent on reuse planning activities. See Narrative Section 3.b site(s) within the target area. (pgs. 8 & 9) N/A = not applicable 8. Letter from State Environmental Authority: A letter of acknowledgement and support from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is attached. Page 2 CIT/MEDC - Ko’Kwel Wharf Property FY2020 US EPA Hazardous Substance Site-Specific Brownfield Assessment Grant Application DEQ Letter of Support CIT/MEDC - Ko’Kwel Wharf Property FY2020 US EPA Hazardous Substance Site-Specific Brownfield Assessment Grant Application RANKING CRITERIA NARRATIVE FY2020 Site-Specific Hazardous Substance Brownfield Assessment Grant Application CIT/MEDC – Ko’Kwel Wharf Property 1. PROJECT AREA DESCRIPTION AND PLANS FOR REVITALIZATION 1.a. Target Area & Brownfields 1.a.i. Background and Description of Target Area: Our ancestors first came to the Coos Bay region 14,000 years ago. In the late 18th century, the Coquille Indian Tribe (CIT) was decimated by European diseases. Two peace treaties with the US government in the 1850s failed in Congress. In 1857, the CIT were forced from their lands and marched 100 miles north to the Siletz Reservation. In 1954 CIT's legal status with the US government was terminated1. For decades, the CIT labored to regain sovereignty and lands. On June 28, 1989, Congress restored CIT’s status as a sovereign Indian Nation and is one of only nine federally recognized Indian tribes in Oregon. The PROPERTY that is the subject of this site-specific brownfield assessment grant (GRANT) was first developed in 1856 with a sawmill by the founder of North Bend, Asa Simpson2. North Bend, and their primary industries were developed because of plentiful regional natural resources. Numerous mills operated along Coos Bay’s waterfront by the late 1800s. The Depression was a local disaster, but after World War II, North Bend experienced good times and high employment. North Bends’ dependence on natural resources continued and a major decline in traditional natural resource industries began in the 1980s. In the years 1981-83, more than 2,000 Coos County timber jobs were lost. After more than 130 years of wood product manufacturing on the PROPERTY, the mill was closed in 1989, a severe blow to the local economy, furthering the decline of the local wood products industry and eliminating 225 family-wage jobs. In June 2019, Georgia-Pacific closed yet another mill in Coos Bay laying off 111 workers. Mill closures created numerous brownfields on lands formerly used for wood product manufacturing and on lands with businesses that supported those industries. After the PROPERTY sat vacant for 15 years, CIT acquired it in 2004 with intent to redevelop. Currently the PROPERTY remains fee land. Despite these regional challenges, today North Bend is home to a historic downtown with art galleries and antique shops and is the gateway to the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. The Mill Casino (built on a former waterfront lumber mill site adjacent and south of the PROPERTY) is North Bend’s most significant tourist attraction and one of our community’s largest employers. The Coos History and Maritime Museum (built on a former waterfront industrial site) opened in 2015 and is attracting many visitors. The mill sites that once employed many in our community are gone, never to return, but the brownfield properties left in their wake, such as the PROPERTY, present opportunities to stimulate our local economy and sustain our people. 1.a.ii. Description of the Brownfield Site: The ~50-acre waterfront PROPERTY was operated as a sawmill for ~130 years. In 1950, wood production appreciably expanded, including the addition of a plywood mill. A Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) operated on a portion of the PROPERTY from ~1910 to ~1938. Environmental issues related to former industrial activities on the PROPERTY include: • Wood treating chemicals - Pentachlorophenol was used as a wood treating agent for several decades, and eventually was replaced with NP-1, a nonchlorophenate sapstain inhibitor. • Wood waste was burned in three “wigwam” burners that are associated with combustion biproducts including metals, dioxins/furans, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). • Solvents and degreasers used in equipment and rolling stock maintenance and repair. • Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) associated with transformers and other electrical equipment. • Phenol-based resins associated with plywood manufacturing. • Petroleum as 1) fuel for heavy equipment, 2) hydraulic oil associated with mill and heavy equipment, and 3) lubricants associated with mill equipment. • Coal tar wastes high in PAHs and volatile organic compounds and purifier wastes high in sulfur and cyanide compounds are related to the MGP. The PROPERTY is located in the Sherman Heights-Pony Creek Neighborhood of North Bend. This neighborhood is defined as the heart of North Bend and consists of a portion of downtown and the primary shopping district. The neighborhood also contains many residents and all but one of North Bend’s schools. Within a 2-mile radius of the PROPERTY, an estimated 16,306 people are living in 7,063 households3. The eastern portion of the PROPERTY, along Coos Bay, is semi-developed with a dilapidated wharf. Five acres, of the northern section is located within a federally designated 100- year flood zone4. The PROPERTY has two current uses. 1) The northernmost ~27 acres are leased to a log export company. Raw logs are stored and loaded onto ocean-going vessels for foreign export. 2) The southern ~23 acres are used by short-term users as a recreational vehicle park and parking 1 House Concurrent Resolution 108 2 https://cooshistory.org/research/timeline-of-south-coast-history/ 3 United States 2010 Census Bureau 4 Oregon Dept. of Geology and Mineral Industries, FEMA Flood Zone Change Map, City of North Bend, 2010 1 FY2020 Site-Specific Hazardous Substance Brownfield Assessment Grant Application CIT/MEDC – Ko’Kwel Wharf Property for The Mill Casino. Across US Route 101, which forms the western PROPERTY boundary, land use is primarily residential and includes North Bend High School located only 0.5 miles to the west. The PROPERTY, in its current state is underutilized and has not been developed because of undetermined environmental issues and the lack of a definitive redevelopment plan. Considering that North Bend has no ability to expand geographically as it is bound by Coos Bay on three sides, and the City of Coos Bay on the other, this PROPERTY represents the largest available site for redevelopment in North Bend and is the City’s highest redevelopment priority. Assessment and reuse of the PROPERTY are a regional priority because it represents a rare opportunity to spur economic growth, build workforce housing, reconnect citizens and tribal members to critical natural and cultural resources and improve the overall health of the community. 1.b. Revitalization of the Target Area 1.b.i. Reuse Strategy and Alignment with Revitalization Plans: The PROPERTY represents the only regional 10+ acre waterfront redevelopment opportunity. CIT and its investment entity, Mith-Ih- Kwuh Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), created under Section 17 of the Indian Reorganization Act, are committed to building workforce housing, promoting tribal culture, and improving socio-economic opportunities for the underserved people of Coos County thereby improving social equality in the community.