Brownfields 2003 Grant Fact Sheet

Lula Washington Contemporary Dance Foundation, Los Angeles, CA

EPA BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic development to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields Law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through four competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.

CLEANUP GRANT

$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the Lula Washington Contemporary Dance Foundation in Los Angeles for a cleanup grant. Grant funds will be used to clean up the property at 3773-75 South Crenshaw Blvd., the future site of the dance theater's studio. The site was formerly an ambulance dispatch center that also was used for automotive repairs. The funds will be used to excavate and dispose of soil contaminated by an aboveground tank and dispose of drums of auto fluids and storage tanks left onsite.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Lula Washington Contemporary Dance Foundation in Los Angeles was selected to receive a cleanup grant. The site, in the heart of South Central Los Angeles, has Enterprise Zone status and is within the Los Angeles Revitalization Zone area and a city Community Redevelopment Area. The primarily low-income neighborhood around the site is plagued with youth gang violence and drug dealing. The median income is one-half of the state median and 29 percent of residents live below the poverty level. Once the site is cleaned up and redeveloped, it will be used for after-school and Saturday programs for low-income, at-risk youths to deter these youth from gangs, drugs, and violence. The Foundation also plans to use the site for outdoor mini-festivals, open house concerts, and open space for use by community groups.

CONTACTS

For further information, including specific grant contacts, additional grant information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/brownfields.

EPA Region 9 Brownfields Team
415-972-3188
http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/brown/

Grant Recipient: Lula Washington Contemporary Dance Foundation, CA
323-678-6250

Prior to receipt of these funds in fiscal year 2003, the Lula Washington Contemporary Dance Foundation has not received brownfields grant funding.

The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.