Riverbank gets $39.5 million grant for Army ammo plant cleanup

The city announced Monday that the Army is providing $39.5 million for further cleanup of the former ammunition plant on Claus Road.

It will be the largest part of the effort to clear polychlorinated biphenyls and other toxic substances from the site so it can continue its transition to other industrial uses, said Debbie Olson, executive director of the Riverbank Local Redevelopment Authority.

That agency will oversee four years of cleanup that will employ 25 to 30 people through Weston Solutions Inc., based in West Chester, Pa. The site’s 38 tenants employ about 300 people, and the new grant could allow that to reach perhaps 400, Olson said.

The grant is on top of $11.9 million for cleanup from the Army in 2013. The upcoming work will include clearing PCBs from interior building surfaces, removal and disposal of siding and roof panels, and treatment of surface soil. It is separate from the groundwater cleanup the Army is doing over several decades.

“This $39 million is a significant grant,” Olson said. “We don’t anticipate any more funds will be needed to do the remediation.”

Alcoa built the 173-acre plant during World War II to produce aluminum for the military. The Army turned it into an ammunition plant that employed more than 2,000 people at its peak during the Vietnam War. It closed in 2009 and eventually will be transferred to city ownership.

The plant has a wide range of tenants, including providers of electric skateboards, filtration systems, security doors and windows, fiber-optic cables, canvas, pest control, janitorial services and other businesses.

“This is another milestone in the redevelopment of the Army ammunition plant,” City Manager Jill Anderson said of the grant in a news release. “We are grateful to the Army and the regulatory agencies for allowing us to be a model of successful reuse of a former military site.”

Mayor Richard O’Brien noted the city’s ambition to “transform the property from a contaminated military site into a job-producing, economic engine for the community.”

This story was originally published May 16, 2016 at 5:50 PM with the headline "Riverbank gets $39.5 million grant for Army ammo plant cleanup."