Brownfields 2005 Grant Fact Sheet

Emeryville, 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 GRANTS

$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the City of Emeryville for two brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to conduct approximately four Phase I site assessments, and two to three Phase II site assessments within the target area east of the railroad tracks. Grant funds also will be used for institutional controls monitoring and community workshops to plan redevelopment uses. Petroleum funds will be used to perform the same tasks at petroleum-contaminated sites.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The City of Emeryville was selected to receive two brownfields assessment grants. Emeryville is a small city in Alameda County with 8,000 residents. The target area is east of the railroad tracks, and a portion of it is a federally designated Enterprise Zone. It has a lower median household income and higher unemployment rate than the rest of the county, and neighborhoods within the area have minority populations as high as 33 percent. Brownfields have affected the city's economy, environment, and quality of life. Although the city has endeavored to remediate and redevelop these sites for the past decade, approximately 70 scattered small brownfields sites remain, predominantly within the target area. The city plans to redevelop brownfields in the target area with housing, services, and mixed-use development. Redevelopment will reduce pollution, bring economic activity to the city, and increase the amount of recreational and open space.

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: City of Emeryville, CA
510-596-4356

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