Current: 2026 Brownfields Cleanup Grant
EPA has selected the City of Keokuk for a $1,996,900 Brownfields Cleanup Grant that will be funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and is among the 207 communities in the United States receiving grants. Grant funds will be used to clean up the Southern Parcel located at 365 Carbide Lane. The 16.37-acre cleanup site was developed in 1915 for smelting and refining zinc and lead. Other products produced at the site included electrode paste, tin cans, casting metals, bearings, and various carbide products. The site is contaminated with coal tar and zinc smelting by-products, coal and petroleum coke stockpiles containing high concentrations of PAHs, and heavy metals. The carbide plant ceased operations in the late 1980s. Grant funds also will be used to conduct two public meetings and support community engagement activities. Read more here.
Current: 2025 Brownfields Cleanup Grant
The City was awarded funding for Phase 2 of the Elkem Carbide site. The City requested nearly $5 million in federal assistance for the cleanup of the "Auditor's Parcel" and received $4.4M. This section is about 9.6 acres in size. Known contamination at this parcel include residual toxins from waste dumping, landfilling, PAHs, RCRA metals, asbestos, lead-based paint, and various hazardous materials. Read more here.
Current: 2024 Brownfields Cleanup Grant
Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the City of Keokuk received a $2 million grant for cleanup of Plat 1 at the Elkem Carbide site. The City of Keokuk selected Eocene Environmental Group, Inc. as the Qualified Environmental Professional (QEP) for administration of the grant in partnership with SEIRPC. Cleanup planning includes created a Site-Specific Quality Assurance Project Plan (SSQAPP), an Analysis of Brownfield Cleanup Alternatives (ABCA), remediation bid documents, Section 106 compliance, and oversight and confirmatory sampling of cleanup activities. Adaapta is leading community engagement efforts. Read the press release.
Past: 2023 Targeted Brownfields Assessment Grant
The City of Keokuk received funding under the EPA's Targeted Brownfields Assessment program in 2023. Projects included a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA), Phase II ESA, Hazardous Materials Survey, and Analysis of Brownfield Cleanup Alternatives for the Elkem Carbide site. You can access all reports here.
Past: 2018 Brownfields Assessment Grant
The City of Keokuk received a $200,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant from the Environmental Protection Agency in 2018. The grant funds were used to update environmental site assessments at the former Elkem-Carbide site at 365 Carbide Lane. The site housed smelting and other manufacturing companies until the early 2000s. The funds also covered preparation of cleanup plans and community outreach activities. Read the press release.