Whitman Hospital & Medical Clinics is seeking assistance from the Port of Whitman County, Washington, to purchase land and apply for federal cleanup funds for a potentially contaminated property. 

If successful, the health care provider envisions constructing a new medical clinic in St. John, Washington, about 50 miles southwest of downtown Spokane. 

The brownfield site for the proposed health care clinic consists of 6,100 square feet of vacant land at the southwest corner of Main and Front streets, in the town of St. John.

The site is owned by two parties. Whitman County Fire Protection District No. 2 owns just over half the site, and Dennis and Penny Hinds together own the balance of the land, according to Whitman County Assessor's records.

In a press release announcing the port district's intent to purchase the land, Hank Hanigan, CEO at Whitman Hospital & Medical Clinics, says, "Our current clinic is critical to the community of St. John, but was not designed as a clinic, and a new space is needed to expand medical services and maintain compliance."

Rebekah Huber, media and community outreach manager at the Port of Whitman County, says the property is considered a brownfield site because there's a possibility that the commercially-zoned land is contaminated. Previously, a butcher shop, a jewelry store, a furniture store, and potentially a gas station operated at the property, Huber says. Site assessments will determine what, if any, remediation needs to be completed there.

"We're in the beginning stages of figuring that out," adds Huber.

The Spokane office of Haley & Aldrich Inc., an environmental consultant company based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is providing an environmental assessment for the port district.

Laurie Gronning, manager of administration at Whitman Hospital & Medical Clinics, says no architect or contractor has been selected for the project yet. 

Port of Whitman County executive director Kara Riebold entered into two purchase agreements for a total of $70,000 for the brownfield site this month, beginning the port's due diligence period, says Huber.

Public hearings will follow a two-phase environmental assessment of the property. 

The transaction will close Oct. 31 if there are no concerns found, the press release states.

Once under port ownership, the port district will have authority to apply for federal cleanup funding to remediate any contamination.

Then, Whitman Hospital & Medical Clinics plans to lease or purchase the property from the port district to build a new St. John medical clinic.

Whitman Hospital & Medical Clinics has outgrown its St. John clinic, located at 8 W. Front, which is about a block west of the proposed new clinic site, says Gronning in an emailed statement to the Journal.

"Establishing a permanent footprint will allow for better patient privacy and options for additional services, such as physical therapy, dietary consults, a potential small retail pharmacy, as well as adequate patient parking," says Gronning.

Whitman Hospital & Medical Clinics currently has seven health care facilities in its network including clinics in the Whitman County towns of Colfax, Tekoa, and Garfield along with its main hospital located at 1200 W. Fairview, in Colfax.

The current clinic in St. John serves people within a 30-mile radius of the town.

"Opening a new clinic in  St. John will fill a large gap in our community and support our region," says St. John Mayor Mike Webb, in the announcement.

Previous plans to develop the property into a new medical clinic for Whitman Hospital & Medical Clinics were stalled in 2021 due to concerns of potentially contaminated land.

In June, staff from the public hospital district asked the Port of Whitman County about designating the proposed clinic property as a potential brownfield site.

As a public port district, the Port of Whitman County is eligible to apply for cleanup funding from the Environmental Protection Agency, but only for district-owned properties, Huber notes.

"That's the reason why we're acquiring this property, because if we do find contaminants on the site, then we can go ahead and apply for cleanup funding," says Huber.

Environmental remediation costs will vary depending on the size and scope of any cleanup needed, Huber explains.

For instance, one previously completed brownfield site cleanup project in Whitman County cost about $1.5 million, while another brownfield cleanup project in the county cost less than $150,000, says Huber.

The Port of Whitman County will present project information to the public at a St. John Town Council meeting on Oct. 14 and at two port commission meetings on Oct. 10 and Oct. 23.