A \   Brownfields 2009 Assessment Grant
&Z]   Fact  Sheet
            Tulare 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. 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 this law, 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 Tulare Redevelopment Agency was selected to
receive two brownfields assessment grants. The City of
Tulare (population 52,000) is located in the central San
Joaquin Valley along Highway 99. It is in the midst of an
ethnically diverse valley with a large Hispanic
population.  The surrounding Tulare County is a
low-income, rural community with a 10.6 percent
unemployment rate. The county's agricultural output
ranks second in the nation, and about a third of the city's
workforce is employed in farming or other agricultural
services. Currently, the Agency's brownfields list contains
20 sites encompassing more than 35 acres in and adjacent
to the city's  downtown corridor. About 45 percent of these
sites are suspected to have petroleum contamination, and
25 percent are  suspected to contain hazardous substances.
Many of them  are vacant, blighted, and underused.
Assessment of brownfields will provide the Agency with
the tools to evaluate the properties and facilitate plans to
address environmental conditions.
                                                   Assessment Grant
                                                   $200,000 for hazardous substances
                                                   (Recovery Act Funding)
                                                   $200,000 for petroleum (Recovery Act
                                                   Funding)

                                                   EPA has selected the Tulare Redevelopment
                                                   Agency for two brownfields assessment grants.
                                                   Community-wide grant funds will be used to
                                                   conduct 10 Phase I and 5 Phase II environmental
                                                   site assessments for hazardous substances and
                                                   petroleum contamination. Grant funds also will be
                                                   used to identify sites, prepare cleanup plans, and
                                                   monitor and enforce institutional controls.
                                                   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/bro wnfields)

                                                   Grant Recipient: Tulare Redevelopment
                                                   Agency,CA
                                                   (559) 684-4254

                                                   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-09-143
      May 2009

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