DeKalb’s city council recently okayed a plan to send an application to the EPA for a brownfield cleanup grant of $2.5 million. The grant award would cover cleanup of the contaminated site on South Fourth Street formerly known as Protano’s Auto Parts (“Protano’s”).
The city’s contracted engineering firm, Fehr Graham, investigated the former auto salvage yard and prepared the grant application. (Links to drafts of these documents appear at bottom of this post.) Their reps told council that EPA will announce the 2026 awards in June and begin releasing the money in October. While an award will cover 100% of the costs of remediation, the grants are highly competitive and there’s no guarantee DeKalb will win one.
I was able to find one organization willing to give odds of a sort. Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR), which helps with these grant applications, offered an overall multiyear success rate average of 30%.
Extent of the Project
Lead and other heavy metals, VOCs and PCBs contaminate the site, which covers approximately two acres. If there’s good news, it’s that a thick, heavy layer of native clay underlies the topsoil there. This helps prevent migration of contaminants deeper than about two feet, although Fehr Graham’s draft analysis indicates some concern over the potential for groundwater contamination.
The city wants full remediation of the site if possible. This involves stabilizing the lead in the soil with a “granular material mix” and then excavating to two feet below the surface. In comparison, partial remediation would involve the lead stabilization plus a barrier such as asphalt. Other differences between remediation methods include initial costs of $2.5 million versus $1.9 million, ongoing barrier maintenance costs in the case of partial remediation, and whether the site would still be subject to use restrictions following remediation.
Ultimately, the city’s goal is to earn an “NFR Letter.” NFR (“No Further Remediation”) status removes pollution-related restrictions on land use, which would help in marketing the property for commercial development.
The Role of TIF 4
The brownfield cleanup is the first major project — and priority — within the TIF district established last year and known as the South Fourth Street TIF, or TIF 4 for short.
However, TIF 4 is too tiny to do the whole job on its own. For 2025, tax increment revenues were $135,000, which covered the $120,300 contract with Fehr Graham and not much more. The increment for 2026 is projected to rise to $250,000, but if so a “surplus” agreement with other taxing bodies will reduce unrestricted revenues by $75,000. There will be additional demands on this TIF fund for help with capital improvements from the taxing bodies with buildings in the district — already DeKalb Township and District 428 school administrators are inquiring about grants. Also, city officials have promised residents infrastructure improvements and housing rehab in the neighborhood.
TIF 4, then, has enabled Fehr Graham’s work to get the application to the finish line. But it’s unlikely to be able to generate, much less accumulate, the funds required for the cleanup itself.
Conclusion
A lot is riding on landing a brownfields grant. A successful cleanup and sale of the property would help drive increased redevelopment efforts along the South Fourth Street corridor. But even with expert help in applying for the grant, it could take more than one attempt to achieve it.
Related
Fourth Street Revitalization Corridor/Pearl Street – 2007. PDF page 19 encapsulates DeKalb’s early interest in remediation of the salvage yard property going back to 2003. The city bought the property in 2015.
Brownfields Cleanup Grant Application: Fehr Graham’s Draft Analysis of Brownfield Cleanup Alternatives. (COCs = Contaminants of Concern)
Brownfields Cleanup Grant Application: Fehr Graham’s Draft Application
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