DERR-2024-008092

UTAH PETROLEUM BROWNFIELD’S
FACT SHEET

BACKGROUND: AQUARIUM SITE (2002 PILOT PROJECT)
In January 2002, a non-profit organization “The
Living Planet Aquarium” as a prospective purchaser
conducted an environmental assessment of the
property and found petroleum contamination at the site
at 400 South 500 West. Because of the contamination,
the sale of the property to the Redevelopment Agency
of Salt Lake City was postponed pending resolution of
the environmental liability issues, cleanup costs and
site closure by the Utah Department of Environmental
Quality as the regulatory agency.

PARTNERS
Utah Department of Environmental Quality (UDEQ)
Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City (RDA)
The Living Planet Aquarium (“Aquarium”)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Property Owner/Investment Firm

ACCOMPLISHMENTS
In less than three months, UDEQ performed an
additional site assessment, conducted soil removal
of about 300 tons of contaminated soil and
removed 3,000 gallons of contaminated
groundwater as part of the cleanup operations.
Through successful resource leveraging with the
private investment partner selling the property,
UDEQ was able to complete all this work for less
than $8,000 using federal grant monies.
Based on the timely cleanup and site closure, the
real estate transaction was able to proceed and the
RDA purchased the property and provided a five
year window without lease or mortgage payments
to the non-profit group to focus on fund raising
activities to generate adequate funding for the
construction of an aquarium.
It is projected that over 2,200 jobs will be created generating over $44 million in wages and
earnings annually from the construction and running the Aquarium. In addition, it is
projected that nearly $5 million dollars in state tax revenues, and $1 million in local sales tax
revenues will be generated on an annual basis.
If the aquarium project is successful, Salt Lake City will be able to enjoy its first world-class
public aquarium adjacent to the Brownfield’s Showcase Community “Gateway” pilot project.
For additional information regarding the aquarium please see the Aquarium’s Internet site at:
http://www.thelivingplanet.com