Brownfields Supplemental Assistance Fact Sheet

PILOT SNAPSHOT
	Date of Announcement: March 2000 Amount: $150,000 Greenspace: $50,000
Target Area: City of Emeryville, CA Profile: The Pilot will convert rail spurs and vacant parcels into green space and perform environmental assessments in select areas of the city, while also preparing brownfields for redevelopment by addressing city-wide groundwater issues and improving property information services.

BACKGROUND

EPA awarded the City of Emeryville supplemental assistance for its Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot and additional funding for assessments at Brownfields properties to be used for greenspace purposes. Historically, heavy industry was the predominant land use in the city, but the majority of the companies left the area in the 1970s. Nearly half of the city's 7,400 residents are low-income, and more than half are minorities. Most of the city's poor live in neighborhoods bordered by brownfields. Although there is demand for residential and commercial development, the cost and risk associated with these brownfields have impeded their redevelopment.

Under the original Pilot, the city took a variety of measures to prepare parcels for redevelopment. These measures include the development of a groundwater management plan designed to protect public health, deep groundwater resources, and the ecological resources of San Francisco Bay while providing regulatory relief and more cost certainty for property owners and developers. In addition, the city has streamlined the land development process by incorporating the environmental sign-off process within the normal planning approval process. The city also developed a "one-stop shop" Internet-based database of environmental and general parcel information for prospective developers. However, additional funds are required to complete the implementation of the city's groundwater management plan, augment the "one-stop shop" database, and perform assessments for the expansion of the city's greenspace resources.

OBJECTIVES AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES

Emeryville's brownfield program is an integral part of its groundwater management plan. Through these coordinated efforts and with this supplemental assistance, the city's goal is to facilitate cleanup and redevelopment of all brownfields in the city, not just individual sites. In addition, through the greenspace assistance, the city will address three areas for greenway and park creation—Doyle Street Greenway, Park Avenue Park, and Community Garden Park.

To accomplish these objectives, the Pilot plans to:

• Continue work on the city-wide groundwater monitoring project that began under the original Pilot;

• Augment the institutional control features of the city's "one-stop shop" Internet-based database of parcel information;

• Initiate a consensus-building process and conduct risk analysis regarding water quality management in the city;

• Perform environmental assessments in the West Park Avenue area; and

• Facilitate greenspace in three targeted areas through environmental assessments, community involvement, and preliminary design plan.

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

CONTACTS

City of Emeryville
(510) 596-4356
(510) 658-8095

Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 9
(415) 744-2237

Visit the EPA Region 9 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/brown/index.html

For further information, including specific Pilot contacts, additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/