United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response(5101)
EPA500-F-99-161
June 1999
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
SEPA
Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Ventura, 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. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded
up to $200,000 over two years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models;job training
pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected
by brownfieldstofacilitatecleanupofbrownfieldssites and preparetrainees for future employmentintheenvironmental
field; and, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds
to make loans for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs 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.
BACKGROUND
EPAhas selected the City ofVenturafor aBrownfields
Pilot. The Westside Community ofVentura (population
11,684) is one of the city's oldest and most diverse
neighborhoods, where approximately 50 percent of
the population is Hispanic. It also has an unemployment
rate of 8.6 percent, which is double that of the city
rate. There are 19 hazardous waste sites per square
mile in the Westside area, compared to just one per
square mile in the rest ofVentura.
Ventura is a city better known for its beaches than its
brownfields. It was a small agricultural community up
until the 1920s when oil was discovered in the hills
beyond the city limits. By the 1930s, the population
had doubled and the Westside neighborhood became
home to the industry that supported oil production.
The Westside area is approximately 1.68 square
miles and contains such sites as an ammonia nitrate
plant, a large salvage and metal recycling operation,
an abandoned rocklite mine, and various heavy
commercial and industrial operations. In the 1990s,
however, the oil industry had abandoned the Westside
area, leaving behind vacated industrial facilities and
causing the unemployment rate to rise. The city
estimates there are approximately 30 known
brownfields sites in the Westside neighborhood, many
PILOTSNAPSHOT
Ventura, California
Dateof Announcement:
June 1999
Amount: $200,000
Profile: ThePilottargetsthe
1.68-square-mile Westside
Community of Ventura,
containing approximately 30
brownfields sites.
Contacts:
Economic Development Manager
(805) 654-7819
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/
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with unknown levels of contamination. Many of these
parcels are adjacent to residential neighborhoods,
school, parks, and open space; specifically, the
ammonia plant is located near the Ventura River.
OBJECTIVES
The city's goal is to revitalize the Westside area
accordingto the master plan developed by the Westside
Community Council (WCC), anon-profit, community-
based organization dedicated to addressing the
neighborhood's social and economic issues. The
Westside Revitalization Strategy calls for attracting
and retaining high-tech industries that can "plug in" to
the community's existing technological infrastructure.
The Pilot's objective is to conduct environmental
assessments on former industrial properties in the
Westside area in order to leverage their cleanup and
redevelopment. By removing any environmental
uncertainty from the sites, the Pilot can help make the
sites more attractive to prospective developers. The
additional jobs and tax revenues created by these new
businesses would begin to reverse the decline of the
Westside area.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS ANDACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Performing Phase I site assessments across the
Westside Community and Phase II site assessments
at sites that warrant them;
• Performing a benchmark study before the Phase I
and II assessments to document current conditions
in the Westside area;
• Creating a cleanup plan;
• Conducting public outreach targeted to under-
represented populations; and
• Conducting an Insurance Archeology Feasibility
Study for the Westside area to determine insurance
status of the properties.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Ventura, California
June 1999 EPA500-F-99-161
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