DNR Awards Brownfields Grant To Village Of Campbellsport

MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced the department awarded a Brownfields Assessment Grant to the village of Campbellsport to assist with the investigation of potential environmental contamination at a former gas station property.

The award is through the DNR’s Wisconsin Assessment Monies program, funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These awards provide contractor services worth up to $35,000 for the environmental assessment of eligible brownfields sites.

Brownfields are properties where the expansion, redevelopment or reuse is complicated by known or potential environmental contamination. Brownfields vary in size, location, age and past use. Brownfields can be anything from a 500-acre former automobile assembly plant to a small, abandoned gas station.

Funding from the grant will support the environmental assessment of the property at 104 S. Railroad Street in Campbellsport, where suspected environmental contamination is related to former commercial and industrial uses of the property. Historically, the property was a pump house for a pickle salting station and then operated as a gas station until 2016. The DNR removed the underground storage tanks associated with the gas station in 2018. The property was obtained by the village of Campbellsport from Fond du Lac County in 2021. The village is working with the DNR to address environmental issues and hopes to see the property successfully redeveloped in the near future.

“Conducting an environmental assessment of this commercial property will bring the village one step closer to realizing the revitalization of this downtown site,” said Jodie Peotter, DNR Brownfields, Outreach and Policy Section Chief, Remediation and Redevelopment Program. “The DNR applauds the efforts of both Fond du Lac County and village of Campbellsport to acquire this property, make sure it’s safe for the public, and work to return it to productive use.”

Since 2009, the DNR’s Wisconsin Assessment Monies program has provided over $3.3 million to over 70 communities across Wisconsin, partnering to help clean up and redevelop often run-down or underused properties that detract from a community’s potential. Because there is no local financial match required, the program grants present an attractive opportunity for communities to learn about environmental conditions. Applications for assistance may be submitted to the DNR at any time.

The DNR has a wide range of financial and liability tools available to help local governments, businesses, lenders, and others clean up and redevelop brownfields in Wisconsin, including Ready for Reuse financial awards, which may be used for environmental cleanup. DNR staff around the state are available to meet with community leaders, bankers, developers and private individuals to discuss brownfield projects.

More information about the department’s brownfields cleanup programs and services is available on the DNR’s brownfields webpage.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.