Rep. Herrera Beutler Helps Secure Federal Grant to Revitalize Vancouver's Fourth Plain Corridor

WASHINGTON, May 7 -- Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Washington, issued the following news release:

Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler applauded an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announcement that a $600,000 grant will be provided to revitalize segments of the Fourth Plain Corridor. Herrera Beutler formally championed the grant with a letter of support to the EPA in January.

This Brownfields Assessment Coalition Grant has been awarded to a coalition led by the city of Vancouver, which includes Clark County Public Health and the Vancouver Housing Authority, to begin revitalizing the Fourth Plain Corridor.

Suspected contamination of petroleum brownfields throughout Vancouver's Fourth Plain Corridor pose an environmental risk to the community and have hindered revitalization of an impoverished and rapidly urbanizing area. The corridor contains three federally-designated Opportunity Zones - created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 - that are primed for redevelopment. The Brownfields Assessment Coalition Grant will be used to conduct environmental site assessments in five priority sites identified by the coalition in the Fourth Plain Corridor, and will assist with the cleanup planning.

"Revitalization of the Fourth Plain Corridor will boost job-creating activities and increase opportunities for the residents who live there, and I was pleased to partner with the city of Vancouver and this coalition to help secure this important funding," Herrera Beutler said.

"This grant will allow the City of Vancouver to work collaboratively with Clark County Public Health and the Vancouver Housing Authority to address environmental challenges and community development needs in both the City and the County, including a focus on planning and redevelopment in the Fourth Plain Corridor," Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle said. "This project will target federal and local investment into some of our most diverse neighborhoods and spur economic redevelopment within our community. We are grateful to Congresswoman Herrera Beutler for her strong support and direct engagement with the EPA."