Brownfields 2009 Assessment  and
Cleanup  Grant Fact Sheet
Merced Redevelopment Agency, CA
                                                                                        RECOUERY.GOV
EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states.
communities, and other stakeholders to work together to
prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. A brownfield 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. In
2002, the Small Business Liability Relief and
Brownfields Revitalization Act was passed. On
February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed
into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The Recovery Act is an unprecedented effort to
jumpstart our economy, and create or save millions of
jobs. This law provided stimulus funds to the
Brownfields Program to award grants to evaluate and
clean up former industrial and commercial sites. Under
both laws in Fiscal Year 2009, EPA will provide
financial assistance to eligible applicants through four
competitive grant programs: assessment grants,
revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job
training grants.

Community Description

The Merced Redevelopment Agency was selected to
receive a brownfields assessment grant and a
brownfields cleanup grant. Merced (population 63,893),
located in central California, is a gateway community to
Yosemite National Park. The city has lost thousands of
jobs during the past 10 years following the closing of
Castle Air Force Base and several large employers.
More recently, the city has been hard-hit by foreclosure
issues, and has the highest foreclosure rate in
California. Merced is the sixth most ethnically diverse
community in the country, including residents of
Hispanic and Flmong descent. The city's unemployment
rate is almost 11 percent, and nearly 22 percent of
residents live in poverty. The assessment grant will
focus on the Merced Center Brownfield, which is  a key
portion of a larger revitalization plan to make Merced
Center the focus of economic activity in the downtown
area. Assessment of the target site is expected to
expedite redevelopment of the Merced Center, which
will include mixed-use development and affordable
                                     Assessment Grant
                                     $200,000 for petroleum (Recovery Act
                                     Funding)

                                     EPA has selected the Merced Redevelopment
                                     Agency for a brownfields assessment grant.
                                     Site-specific petroleum grant funds will be used to
                                     perform Phase I and Phase II environmental site
                                     assessments at the Merced Center Brownfield at
                                     1880 N street. Grant funds also will be used to
                                     perform groundwater monitoring and support
                                     community outreach activities.

                                     Cleanup Grant

                                     $200,000 for petroleum

                                     EPA has selected the Merced Redevelopment
                                     Agency for a brownfields cleanup grant. Petroleum
                                     grant funds will be used to clean up the R Street
                                     Brownfield at the corner of R and 15th Streets. The
                                     site is a parking lot that is contaminated with
                                     gasoline and diesel range petroleum hydrocarbons.
                                     Grant funds also will be used 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
                                     (http://www.epa.gov/brownfields).

                                     EPA Region 9 Brownfields Team
                                     (415) 972-3091
                                     EPA Region 9 Brownfields Web site
                                     (http://www.epa.gov/region9/brownfields)

                                     Grant Recipient: Redevelopment Agency of the City
                                     ofMerced,CA
                                     (209)388-7507

                                     The information presented in this fact sheet comes
                                     from the grant proposal; EPA cannot  attest to the
                                     accuracy of this information. The cooperative
  United States
  Environmental
  Protection Agency
  Washington, DC 20450
                  Solid Waste
                  and Emergency
                  Response (5105T)
EPA560-F-09-107
        May 09

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housing. The target cleanup site, which is adjacent to       agreement for the grant has not yet been negotiated.
one of downtown's most successful businesses, contains    Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are
a contamination plume that threatens a municipal          subject to change.
domestic water well. When the target site is cleaned up,
the Agency plans to redevelop it for retail use, which is
expected to create new jobs and increase tax revenues.
  United States
                                    and                                                   EPA
  Protection Agency                     ResDonse(51oVn                                                 May 09
  Washington, DC 20450                 Kesponse (bl Ob I )

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