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Transforming Brownfields Using
EPA Petroleum Funding
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Petroleum Funding
. assed in 2002, the federal Brownfields Law expanded EPA's
Brownfields Program by designating 25 percent of the Program's
grants specifically for assessment and cleanup activities at low-risk
petroleum properties. Since 2003, EPA has awarded approximately
$23 million per year in brownfields grants for petroleum-contaminated
properties such as former gas stations and industrial properties. The
EPA Brownfields Program offers a number of grant types to address
petroleum contamination on brownfields: Assessment grants provide
up to $200,000 to assess a property with potential petroleum
contamination; Cleanup grants provide up to $200,000 per property to
clean up petroleum contamination; and Revolving Loan Fund grants
provide up to $ 1,000,000 to capitalize revolving loan funds that provide
subgrants to carry out assessment and/or cleanup activities on
brownfields contaminated
by petroleum.
Potential sources of petroleum contamination on brownfields include
underground storage tanks, gasoline stations, and oil production
facilities. An underground storage tank (UST) includes a tank (and
any underground piping connected to a tank) where at least 10
percent of the combined volume is underground. USTs often contain
petroleum products such as gasoline, and faulty installation or
inadequate operating and maintenance procedures can cause them to
release their contents into the environment. The greatest potential
hazard from leaking USTs is that petroleum fuels, fuel additives, or
other hazardous substances can seep into soil and contaminate ground
water.
Gasoline stations consist of pump islands, USTs for fuel, small storage
areas, and service areas for changing automobile engine oil and other
maintenance. Gasoline and diesel spills at transfer areas and pumps,
along with overfilling of and leakage from USTs, are often sources of
contamination. Soils and ground water may be contaminated from
these spills, as well as from the dumping of used lubricants, coolants,
and cleaning solvents.
Oil production facilities consist of oil drilling, refining, storage, transfer,
transport, and recycling facilities. Typical materials present at these
facilities include crude, fuel, motor, and waste oils. Production
processes at these facilities may contaminate soils and ground water
when spills, leaks or improper disposal practices occur.
Communities are using EPA grants to address petroleum issues on
sites across the country, and are reusing brownfields in ways that
include affordable housing, recreational greenspace, and new
government facilities.
continued
-7-
The Elder Street Artist Lofts in Houston, Texas.
Photo by Steve Hudson.
JUST THE FACTS:
• The rural City of Prineville, Oregon
identified a critical need for building
space to accommodate municipal
needs such as administration, planning
and community development, police
and emergency dispatch, and child/
family services.
• In 2004, Prineville used its $200,000
EPA Brownfields Cleanup grant to
remove more than 2,700 tons of
petroleum-impacted soil and demolish
buildings on a former gas station
property in a key downtown location.
• With funding leveraged from a number
of public-sector sources, Prineville
integrated this once-contaminated
property into the new City-County
Government Services Complex, which
includes a plaza that can host 500
visitors for concerts, speeches, and
community events.
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Elder Street Artist Lofts - Houston, Texas
The Washington Avenue neighborhood in Houston, Texas is an ethnically diverse, mixed-use neighborhood
directly northwest of downtown. The neighborhood median income is 50 percent of the City of Houston's
and 35 percent of residents earn less than the national poverty level. A real estate boom in Houston's inner
city led to increased land prices and a decrease in the supply of affordable housing. Since 1990, the
neighborhood has experienced a 23 percent decrease in housing stock, almost all of which was rental units.
For several years, Avenue Community Development Corporation (CDC) and other community activists had
looked for a way to reintegrate the historic Jefferson Davis Hospital building back into the Washington
Avenue community. Since many artists have come to live and work in the Washington Avenue
neighborhood, which has a small theatre district and a growing number of art galleries, the Cultural Arts
Council of Houston recognized a special need for affordable housing for artists. This need proved to be the
solution to revitalizing the former hospital property.
A $200,000 EPA Brownfields Cleanup grant awarded in 2003 helped transform the historic Jefferson Davis
Hospital building into the Jefferson Davis Artists Lofts, an affordable housing development for Houston's
artist community. The EPA grant recipient, Jefferson Davis Artist Lofts (JDAL), L.P, is a joint venture
between Artspace Projects, Inc. of Minneapolis, a non-profit developer that renovates buildings into space
where artists can live and work, and Avenue CDC, a Houston-based non-profit organization founded by
residents to develop affordable housing and economic opportunities in the Washington Avenue community.
The 1.6-acre property was originally a city park, but in 1924, the city built the Jefferson Davis Hospital on
the property, the first public hospital for indigent care in Houston. Soon after opening, the rapid growth in
Houston's population made larger hospital facilities a necessity and the Jefferson Davis Hospital was
closed. The building then went through a variety of uses, including a clinic and a residential addiction
treatment facility; however, prior to cleanup and redevelopment, the building had been vacant for more than
twenty years and had become a magnet for homeless populations and gangs. In 2002, JDAL purchased the
Jefferson Davis Hospital property from Harris County for redevelopment. As part of the acquisition
process, Avenue CDC hired consultants to perform an environmental assessment in 2001, revealing an
underground storage tank that had contained gasoline used to fuel ambulances, as well as lead-based paint
and asbestos contamination present in the building.
In August 2003, JDAL used EPA's Brownfields Cleanup grant to address the property's contamination
issues, which included UST removal and confirmatory sampling in the area of excavation to determine
whether a petroleum release occurred. Sampling indicated that neither ground water assessment nor
monitoring would be required. In February 2004, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)
issued a No Further Action letter. In June 2004, an asbestos abatement was conducted that included the
removal of insulation from pipes, floor tile, boilers, and roofing materials.
Cleanup was completed in June 2004, and renovation of the Jefferson Davis Hospital into 34 loft-style
apartments began in August 2004. The building opened in October 2005, creating 10 jobs, and was fully
leased by November. One unique feature of the renovation is a "green" or vegetative roof system that
conserves energy. Also, some of the lofts were leased to New Orleans jazz musicians displaced by
Hurricane Katrina.
JDAL was able to leverage funding from diverse entities motivated by different aspects of the project, such
as the need for affordable housing, support for the arts, and historical preservation. Used for acquisition,
abatement, and construction, leveraged funding included $253,000 from Neighborworks America; a
$500,000 Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone funds from the City of Houston; $89,000 from the Harris
County Tax Increment Redevelopment Zone (TIRZ) program; $2.2 million in low-income housing tax
credits administered through the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs; $1 million in
Historic Tax Credits through the National Park Service; a $50,000 Restore America grant from the
National Trust for Historic Preservation; approximately $2 million in private philanthropic funding from the
Houston Endowment, Brown Foundation and others; and $172,260 from Avenue CDC and Artspace in
deferred development fees.
continued
Brownfields Success Story
Petroleum Theme
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
-2-
EPA-560-F-06-248
October 2006
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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The Prineville City Hall and Community Plaza - Prineville, Oregon
The City of Prineville, Oregon, a rural town of 9,000, faced the challenge of revitalizing their downtown after
a decade of population growth. The City identified a critical need for additional building space to
accommodate services including administration, planning and community development, police and emergency
dispatch, and child/family services. Complicating this redevelopment need was damage remaining from a
1998 flood; following excessive snowmelt and rainfall, the Ochoco Creek had overflowed into downtown
Prineville, severely impacting a six-acre, two square-block commercial and residential area. To meet these
challenges, the city planned a comprehensive downtown revitalization project that included redevelopment of
several damaged properties, construction of a new City-County Government Service Complex, new parks
and greenways, a road extension, and a new County Family Resource Center.
A $200,000 EPA Brownfields Petroleum Cleanup grant awarded to the City in 2003 was instrumental in
transforming a 0.25-acre, former gas station property in the flood-affected area into the City-County
Government Services Complex, which includes a new City Hall, renovation of the existing City Hall, and a
new, outdoor community plaza. While the property had long been considered an ideal location for a new City
Hall and community plaza, the gas station that operated from 1940 until 1997 had left severe petroleum
contamination. Prior to the station's closure, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ORDEQ)
required the station to remove its USTs, which were found to be leaking gasoline, contaminating the ground
water and soil. In addition, gasoline vapors were migrating up into nearby buildings, contaminating their
indoor air. Through its Orphan Site Program, the ORDEQ installed vapor ventilation systems and a combined
shallow soil vapor and ground water extraction system to prevent additional vapors from entering these
buildings until further removal actions could be conducted. However, the contaminated soil and ground
water remained.
In 2004, the city used its EPA Cleanup grant to address the soil and ground water petroleum contamination
and further minimize the migration of vapors. More than 2,700 tons of petroleum-impacted soil were
excavated; onsite treatment of contaminated ground water was conducted using air sparging combined with
soil vapor extraction; and the onsite buildings were demolished. Cleanup was completed in June 2004 and the
new City Hall and Community Plaza, which can host 500 visitors for concerts, speeches, and community
events, opened in July 2005.
To complete this project, the City leveraged funding from a variety of sources, including $900,000 in interim
financing from Crook County; a $400,000 Oregon Housing and Community Services Department Community
INVESTMENT grant; a $ 1.8 million Oregon Economic Community Development Department Flood
Recovery and Restoration grant for park development; a $25,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest
Service Community Assistance Planning grant for design costs; a $300,000 Oregon Department of
Transportation Local Street Network grant for road updates; a $2 million U.S. Department of Agriculture
Rural Development loan for construction; and $400,000 from the city itself. The project also leveraged
approximately 30 cleanup and redevelopment jobs.
Mike Shepard with U.S EPA Region 10 credits EPA Brownfields funding with enabling the success of the
overall downtown redevelopment project. "The cleanup of the Prineville property was the lynch pin for the
larger redevelopment of Prineville's downtown. Restoration of the Ochoco Creek flood plain was a
significant ecosystem improvement and native species are already returning to the area and the community
is excited about the new greenspace."
The Las Brisas Community Affordable Housing Development - Signal Hill, California
Since the 1920s, the City of Signal Hill, California, has been impacted by oil field production. A majority of
the approximately 164 acres of Signal Hill's brownfields—a disproportionately large number for a two
square-mile community of only 11,089—are a result of the waning petroleum industry. Declines in domestic
oil reserves and production left behind aging oil and gas production and refining facilities, dilapidated
structures, outdated equipment, and environmental concerns including petroleum contamination. Signal Hill
views the redevelopment of its brownfields as a means to address a variety of community challenges,
including a critical shortage of affordable housing.
continued
Brownfields Success Story
Petroleum Theme
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
-3-
EPA-560-F-06-248
October 2006
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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In 2000, the city developed a comprehensive revitalization plan to deal with many issues in their brownfields-
impacted Las Brisas neighborhood, including the affordable housing shortage. As part of this redevelopment
plan, the Signal Hill Redevelopment Agency, in partnership with the Los Angeles Community Design Center,
a nonprofit affordable housing real estate development organization, created the Las Brisas Revitalization
Project. The first phase of this project, a 92-unit, affordable housing development known as Las Brisas
Community Housing Phase I, opened in 2003. The development includes a community center with a
childcare facility, computer learning labs, and community meeting rooms as well as a community
park. Las Brisas Phase I began the transformation of the Las Brisas area into a
neighborhood that provides affordable and secure housing, community services, and
open space.
CONTACTS:
For more information contact
U.S. ERA-REGION 6 - (214) 665-6444
U.S. ERA-REGION 9 - (415) 947-8000
U.S. ERA-REGION 10-(206) 553-1200
Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at:
http://www.epa.qov/brownfields/
The city was so pleased with Phase I of the Las Brisas Revitalization Project
that Phase II, an additional affordable housing development, was approved for
an adjacent, 1.4-acre property. A $400,000 EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant
awarded to the City of Signal Hill in 2004, which included $200,000 to address
petroleum contamination, was an essential element of this project. The city
used EPA's funding to conduct a complete environmental assessment at the Las
Brisas Phase II property in April 2005, revealing that the soil was contaminated
with low levels of petroleum, lead, and methane. A methane barrier system was
designed for the soil, and in 2005, the City conducted a Human Health Risk
Assessment that found no potential dangers to human health.
In November 2005, construction of 60-units of low- and very low-income affordable
housing began on the Phase II property. With approximately 20 units reserved for senior
citizens, this new residential complex will include a small senior activity center, landscaped
courtyards, and parking areas with designated senior spaces. The project is scheduled for
completion in late 2006.
To acquire the Phase II property, the Signal Hill Redevelopment Agency sold approximately $3 million worth
of low-income housing bonds. Additional, leveraged funding included $5.15 million from Signal Hill
Redevelopment Agency bonds and tax increments; $2.1 million through the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development HOME Investment Partnerships Program; and approximately $ 12 million in California
low-income housing tax credits.
According to Debbie Rich, Deputy City Manager of Signal Hill, EPA funding was instrumental in the success
of the Las Brisas Community Housing Development. "Signal Hill is a small city with limited resources. The
EPA Brownfields Cleanup Grant was instrumental in helping the city to leverage additional resources for the
Las Brisas Revitalization Project. The EPA and leveraged funding has helped the city meet an obligation to
provide affordable housing and transform blight into a revitalized neighborhood."
Recent changes in the Brownfields Law have provided communities with an additional tool to revitalize
properties affected by petroleum contamination; communities are using their EPA grants to address
petroleum issues on properties across the country. EPA Brownfields Petroleum grants are being used for
assessment and cleanup activities on redevelopment projects that are producing museums, city halls, health
centers, and new housing developments. For more information on EPA's Brownfields Program visit:
http ://www. epa.gov/brownfields.
Brownfields Success Story
Petroleum Theme
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
-4-
EPA-560-F-06-248
October 2006
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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