Brownfields 2010 Cleanup Grant Fact Sheet
California Department of Conservation, Plumas-Eureka State
Par/c
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 to help
states and communities around the country cleanup and
revitalize brownfields sites. Under this 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. Additionally, funding support is
provided to state and tribal response programs through
a separate mechanism.
Community Description
The California Department of Conservation was
selected to receive three brownfields cleanup grants.
The target sites are within Plumas-Eureka State Park in
Plumas County (population 20,275) in the Northern
Sierra Mountains of California (population 34,000,000).
The park is in a rural, remote area of the state that is
part of California"s historic "Mother Lode." With the
severe downturn in mining and logging, tourism and
recreation have become more important to the area"s
economy. The park attracts about 50,000 visitors a year
who come to share in its rich history, educational
opportunities, and family-oriented activities. Recently,
the park was closed due to elevated levels of hazardous
substances from former mining activities. Tailings that
erode into the adjacent Jamison Creek affect the water
quality of the area watershed and the Sacramento River.
The area"s unemployment rate is consistently well
above the state and national rates. In March of 2009,
during the tourism off-season, the unemployment rate in
the county reached nearly 21 percent. Cleanup of the
Plumas-Eureka sites will enable the park to reopen to
visitors and area residents. Reopening the park also is
expected to benefit local businesses that rely on visitors
for their livelihood.
Cleanup Grants
$600,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the California Department of
Conservation for three brownfields cleanup grants.
Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
clean up three sites in the Plumas-Eureka State Park:
the Jamison Creek Day-Use Area (JCDUA) Picnic
site, the Historic Powerhouse site, and the ADA
Accessible site. The sites are located at 310
Johnsville Road, about five miles south of the town
of Blairsden. They are contaminated with heavy
metals from mine tailings produced during ore
processing activities at a mill built in the 1870s near
Jamison Creek. Grant funds also will be used for
cleanup planning and 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
(213)244-1821
EPA Region 9 Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/region9/brownfields)
Grant Recipient: California Department of
Conservation
916-323-9226
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 negotiated.
Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are
subject to change.
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA560-F-10-159
Apr 10
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