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 Brownfields  2005
 Grant  Fact  Sheet
        Petaluma,  CA
EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders in economic development
to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up,
and sustainably reuse brownfields. Abrownfield 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. Addi-
tionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal
response programs through a separate mechanism.

Community Description

The City of Petaluma was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Located in Sonoma
County, Petaluma (population 54,548) was founded in
1852 as a historic river town that became recognized
as a center for agriculture, shipping, and manufactur-
ing. Since then, it has also supported a broad mix of
uses, including trade, commercial businesses, and
housing. Hundreds of environmentally-impacted sites
have been identified in the city, including fuel service
and storage stations, tanneries, soap-making facilities,
poultry processing facilities, coal gasification plants,
and dry cleaners. The presence of blighted properties
hinders redevelopment and directly affects the popula-
tion. There  have been many cases of hazardous
                       Assessment Grant
                       $200,000 for hazardous substances
                       EPA has selected the City of Petaluma for a
                       brownfields assessment grant.  Grant funds will
                       be used to develop a community-wide inventory
                       of potentially contaminated sites. Funds also will
                       be used to perform up to seven Phase I assess-
                       ments and up to three Phase II assessments, and
                       to conduct community outreach activities.
                       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
                       415-972-3188
                       http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/brown/
                       index.html

                       Grant Recipient: City of Petaluma, CA
                       707-778-4555

                       The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
                       yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
                       in this fact sheet are subject to change.
                    materials impacting drinking wells, which recently led
                    the Sonoma County Environmental Health Department
                    to hire a specialist to address this issue. The Petaluma
                    River, the heart of downtown, is affected daily by the
                    many contaminated sites situated along and near its
                    banks. Brownfields redevelopment will attract new
                    jobs, promote new development, enhance the down-
                    town and river areas, and eliminate adverse physical
                    and economic conditions.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                                             EPA560-F-05-142
                                             May 2005
                                             www.epa.gov/brownfields

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