EPA grants wanted for cleanup of Menomonie Street event center site Land where the project is planned has a history of industrial uses, and the UW-Eau Claire Foundation is seeking EPA Brownfields grants to help remediate tainted soils there. Environmental Protection Agency to help pay costs of containing soils contaminated by more than a century of industrial activity to make way for an event and recreation center along the Chippewa River.

This will be the second attempt the foundation has made for Brownfield grants from the federal agency for the cleanup work estimated to cost nearly $800,000 at land along Menomonie Street planned for the Sonnentag Event and Recreation Complex.

The land for the event and recreation center is about 25 acres on the south side of Menomonie Street, east of the recreation trail.

Removing the contaminated soil or employing methods to cleanse it of unwanted materials would cost an estimated $4 million to $4.5 million, according to the application.