Brownfields 2003 Grant Fact Sheet

Oakland, 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.

ASSESSMENT GRANT

$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Oakland for a brownfields assessment grant. The city will use grant funds to assess the Uptown Area site. Specifically, the site will be investigated for soil contamination by lead, groundwater contamination by chlorinated solvents, and the presence of asbestos and lead-based paint in existing site structures. The Uptown Area site consists of 56 individual land parcels spanning three city blocks.

CLEANUP GRANT

$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Oakland for a brownfields cleanup grant. The city will use grant funds to clean up a portion of the Uptown Area site. The site is bounded by 18th Street, Thomas L. Berkley Way, Telegraph Avenue, and San Pablo Avenue. Grant funds will be used to clean up lead-contaminated soil and to remove asbestos and lead-based paint from existing structures.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The City of Oakland was selected to receive assessment and cleanup grants. Oakland is an Enhanced Enterprise Community (EEC) and contains three designated EEC areas, all of which will benefit from the assessment and cleanup projects. For the past decade, the City of Oakland has pursued revitalization of the blighted and underutilized Uptown Area adjacent to its central business district. The target area will be redeveloped into housing, parking, retail areas, and a park. The population surrounding the site is approximately 80 percent minority, and 78 percent of households have annual incomes of less than $25,000. The City of Oakland will convene public hearings and meetings to discuss the findings of the site assessment and to educate the community about the cleanup process.

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: City of Oakland, CA
510-238-7314

Prior to receipt of these funds in fiscal year 2003, the City of Oakland has received brownfields funding for assessment and revolving loan fund grants.

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