United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA500-F-97-117
April 1997
xvEPA
Regional Brownfields
Assessment Pilot
East Palo Alto, CA
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower States, communities, and other
stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and
sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and
an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. Between 1995 and 1996, EPA funded 76 National and Regional Brownfields
Assessment Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of brownfields
solutions. EPAis funding morethan 27 Pilots in 1997. The Pilots are intended to provide EPA, States, Tribes, municipalities,
and communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods to promote a unified
approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.
OVERVIEW
EPA Region 9 has selected the City of East Palo Alto
as a Regional Brownfields Pilot. The Region has
joined with the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD) to provide assistance to
the city.
East Palo Alto has an ethnically diverse population of
approximately 25,000 within a 2.5 square mile area.
According to the 1990 census, community residents
are 86% minority, including African Americans,
Latinos, Pacific Islanders, and Asians. Incorporated
in 1983, the city inherited an area with inadequate
infrastructure, low sales and property tax revenues,
no central business district, and the 130-acre
Ravenswood Industrial Area. The Ravenswood area
overlooks wetlands and the San Francisco Bay, and is
located at the gateway to technology-based Silicon
Valley, making it an attractive location for local
industries. Redevelopment has been hampered by the
perception of widespread contamination.
EPA completed a Phase II site investigation in
December 1996, which showed that contamination
was far less than originally expected. Pilot activities
will include further assessment of properties within
the Ravenswood Industrial Area.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
East Palo Alto, California
Date of Award:
April 1997
Amount: $125,000
Site Profile: The pilot will
target the 130-acre
Ravenswood Industrial
Area, made up of 59
properties and used for
agricultural, residential,
commercial, and industrial
activities.
Contacts:
Sherry Nikzat
Office of the City Manager
City of East Palo Alto
(415)853-3122
Steve Sachs
U.S. HUD
Community Planning and
Development
(415)436-6597
Mark Johnson
CalEPA
Regional Water Quality
Control Board
(510)286-0305
Thomas Mix
U.S. EPA-Region 9
(415)744-2378
mix.tom@epamail.epa.gov
Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields
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OBJECTIVES
The EPA pilot is focused on completing site
assessment efforts in the targeted area and beginning
remediation planning. East Palo Alto's goals are to
redevelop alarge portion of the 130-acre Ravenswood
complex, create new job opportunities for residents,
and increase the city's tax base to improve community
services. EPA and HUD have teamed together to
assist the city by providing a federal staff liaison to
work on brownfields and economic development
issues, coordinate federal and state programs to meet
the needs of East Palo Alto, and identify assistance
programs for which the city qualifies. EPA also is
assisting the city in community environmental
education and convening a Ravenswood Industrial
Area Stakeholders Group, which will make land-use
recommendations and identify a process for
implementation of the redevelopment plan.
ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this pilot include:
• Working with the California Regional Water Quality
Control Board (CalEPA) to conduct a screening-
level investigation of soil and groundwater
contamination;
• Determining the extent of soil and groundwater
pollution, and identifying areas where more
comprehensive studies may need to be conducted;
• Establishing a Ravenswood Industrial Area
Stakeholders Group to determine future land uses
with assistance from EPA and HUD;
• Conducting outreach activities to attract businesses
to the area; and
• Conducting community outreach and education
meetings to inform residents of the results of EPA
investigations.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been
negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact
sheet are subject to change.
Regional Brownfields Assessment Pilot East Palo Alto, California
April 1997 EPA500-F-97-117
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