Brownfields 2005 Grant Fact Sheet

El Cajon Redevelopment Agency, 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 petroleum
EPA has selected the El Cajon Redevelopment Agency for a brownfields assessment grant. Grant funds will be used to conduct Phase I environmental site assessments and develop cleanup plans for properties within and adjacent to the central business district of the city. Funds also will be used to conduct community outreach activities and develop a geographic information system database of sites.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The El Cajon Redevelopment Agency was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. The City of El Cajon (population 97,643) is located in San Diego County, California. From the 1940s through the 1960s, the El Cajon central urban area attracted businesses such as auto repair, paint and body shops, dry cleaners, and laundromats. Main Street was the major east-west thoroughfare in the county prior to the construction of an interstate freeway. When growth and development waned in the 1970s, many of the properties in the central business district (CBD) area deteriorated. The downtown district has nearly 2,800 apartment units and two senior housing complexes with hundreds of low-income residents. Approximately 17 percent of El Cajon residents live below the poverty level and about one-fifth of the adult population over 25 did not graduate from high school. El Cajon also is home to a large immigrant population. The presence of a variety of contaminants in soil and groundwater, predominantly from underground storage tanks, has proven to be a significant barrier to the redevelopment that is necessary to enhance the economic viability of the CBD. Assessment of the area's brownfields sites will help remove that barrier and help the city fulfill two of its core missions, the creation of new jobs and the construction of affordable housing for its residents.

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/index.html

Grant Recipient: El Cajon Redevelopment Agency, CA
619-441-1718

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