Old Hastings Middle School EPA Brownfield Cleanup Grant
The old Hastings Middle School at 714 West 5th Street has been determined to be a brownfield site because of some of the building materials that the school building and additions to the building may have been constructed with. This can include floor tiles, ceiling tiles, or pipe installation made of asbestos. While asbestos does not cause a health risk to the public in its present condition, any disturbances to the asbestos could pose a danger to people. This limits the reuse of the building if these contaminated materials are disturbed.
The Hastings Community Redevelopment Authority (CRA) and the City of Hastings are partnering with the South Central Economic Development District to develop a grant application to the United States Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Program Cleanup Grant to remediate the contaminated materials and prepare the building for reuse or redevelopment.
The EPA Grant guidelines can be found at EPA's Brownfield Program site.
The grant application is due November 14, 2024.
The Hastings City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing at their October 28, 2024 meeting, which starts at 5:30 pm to consider the draft grant application. This meeting will be at the Hastings Municipal Airport, 3300 West 12th Street, Hastings, Nebraska.
We would appreciate your questions about the grant program and the community's proposed application. Additionally, we want to hear your thoughts and ideas on how the building can be reused in the future once the contaminant issues are remedied.