Palouse will take over testing at Brownfields site

The City of Palouse has changed its request for proposals for its Brownfields state environmental cleanup site.

Instead of asking that potential developers continue to test the site for contaminants, the city has decided it will take over the testing aspect.

“We’re so confident in what we did and where the test results are going, we don’t want to make it any type of unknown to any potential purchaser,” said Mayor Michael Echanove. “We are not worried.”

The city will start advertising again later this month in markets on the west side and online.

The original request was advertised last July in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News and the Lewiston Tribune. The deadline of Sept. 1 drew no responses.

On Main Street, the site was the former location of a welding shop, gas station and fuel storage facility. In 2012 a building was torn down at the quarter-acre site and another dismantled. The spot has since been tested for petroleum and manganese as part of a state Department of Ecology (DOE) program. Further monitoring is required.

“We had some interest before advertising it so we didn’t think we needed a full-scale marketing effort,” said Kyle Dixon, city administrator. “We don’t need to rush to get this off our hands. We want a competent developer with a sound plan.”