Brownfields 2006 Grant Fact Sheet

Oakland, CA

EPA BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders 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 Oakland for two brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous substances and petroleum grant funds will be used to perform Phase II environmental site assessments in an area around the Coliseum Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Station. Funds also will be used for community outreach activities and cleanup planning.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The City of Oakland was selected to receive two brownfields assessment grants. Located on the San Francisco Bay, Oakland (population 399,484) will assess brownfields in an area of the city that is a federally designated Enhanced Enterprise Community/Enterprise Zone. Approximately 76 percent of the city's residents are minorities, including 36 percent African-American and 22 percent Hispanic. Fifty-five percent of families in Oakland live below the poverty level. During the past 20 years, a large number of manufacturing jobs have been lost due to plant closures and relocations, leading to unused, vacant, and underutilized properties. Of the city's 8,000 acres of commercial and industrial land, 1,000 acres are confirmed or potential brownfields. After brownfields are assessed and eventually cleaned up, they will be become the site of a mixed-use, transit-oriented development project that will include new housing units and a pedestrian plaza or walkway. Brownfields redevelopment will provide jobs, increase city revenue, reduce pressure to build on agricultural or other undeveloped land, strengthen existing neighborhoods, reduce dependency on automobiles, and reduce threats to human health and the environment.

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
415-972-3092
http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/brown/index.html

Grant Recipient: City of Oakland, CA
510-238-7371

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