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 Brownfields  2007

  Grant Fact  Sheet

 Habitat for Humanity

   East Bay,  Oakland,

                   CA


EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders 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
Habitat for Humanity  East Bay was selected to
receive a brownfields cleanup grant. The population of
the Sobrante Park neighborhood of East Oakland,
location of the "Edes B" cleanup site, is 53 percent
African-American and 38 percent Hispanic. The
poverty rate in the neighborhood is 21 percent, and the
unemployment rate is  17 percent. There are dozens of
contaminated sites within a 1.5-mile radius of this
neighborhood. These sites consist of abandoned
industrial properties and illegal dumping grounds that
contribute to blight in the area. Cleanup of the 1.8-acre

 Cleanup Grant
 $200,000 for hazardous substances
 EPA has selected Habitat for Humanity East Bay
 for a brownfields cleanup grant. Grant funds will
 be used to clean up polycyclic aromatic hydrocar-
 bons (PAHs) and heavy metal contamination at
 Habitat East Bay's "Edes B" site at 10800 Edes
 Avenue in Oakland. The site was initially used as
 a greenhouse and later as a construction demoli-
 tion staging area.
 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
 415-972-3092
 http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/brown/
 index.html
 Grant Recipient: Habitat for Humanity East Bay,
 CA
 510-251-6304, ext. 312
 The information presented in this fact sheet comes
 from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the
 accuracy of this information. The cooperative
 agreement for the grant has not yet been negoti-
 ated. Therefore, activities described in this fact
 sheet are subject to change.
target property will help remove environmental and
health hazards, and allow Habitat for Humanity to
proceed with its plans to build at least 25 affordable
housing units. This development is expected to attract
new businesses to the area, raise property values, and
increase the city's tax base, which will help revitalize
the neighborhood.
                                                Solid Waste and
                                                Emergency Response
                                                (5105T)
                        EPA 560-F-07-067
                        May 2007
                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

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