Brownfields 2007 Grant Fact Sheet

Habitat for Humanity East Bay, 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.

CLEANUP GRANT

$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected Habitat for Humanity East Bay for a brownfields cleanup grant. Grant funds will be used to clean up polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metal contamination at Habitat East Bay's "Edes B" site at 10800 Edes Avenue in Oakland. The site was initially used as a greenhouse and later as a construction demolition staging area.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

Habitat for Humanity East Bay was selected to receive a brownfields cleanup grant. The population of the Sobrante Park neighborhood of East Oakland, location of the "Edes B" cleanup site, is 53 percent African-American and 38 percent Hispanic. The poverty rate in the neighborhood is 21 percent, and the unemployment rate is 17 percent. There are dozens of contaminated sites within a 1.5-mile radius of this neighborhood. These sites consist of abandoned industrial properties and illegal dumping grounds that contribute to blight in the area. Cleanup of the 1.8-acre target property will help remove environmental and health hazards, and allow Habitat for Humanity to proceed with its plans to build at least 25 affordable housing units. This development is expected to attract new businesses to the area, raise property values, and increase the city's tax base, which will help revitalize the neighborhood.

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: Habitat for Humanity East Bay, CA
510-251-6304, ext. 312

The information presented in this fact sheet comes from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. The cooperative agreement for the grant has not yet been negotiated. Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.