Brownfields 2009 Assessment Grant
Fact Sheet
Firebaugh, 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 City of Firebaugh was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants. Located in the Central
Valley of California, Firebaugh (population 5,743)
initially developed in the early 1900s as an agricultural
center for western Fresno County. Throughout the last
century, the economic base of the community included
providing agricultural services and products such as
pesticides and herbicides. The community is surrounded
by active agricultural operations, and a significant portion
of agricultural chemical suppliers are crop-spraying
operations. Most residents are immigrants who depend on
seasonal agricultural work, and 87.5 percent of residents
are Hispanic or Latino. Over 22 percent of residents live
below the poverty level. The city's unemployment rate is
17.3 percent. The city's assessment efforts will focus on
the Firebaugh Redevelopment Project Area, where there
are an estimated 96 potential brownfields. Assessment of
brownfields is expected to spur brownfields reuse and
provide opportunities for redevelopment.
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
(Recovery Act Funding)
$200,000 for petroleum (Recovery Act
Funding)
EPA has selected the City of Firebaugh for two
brownfields assessment grants. Community-wide
hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
inventory and prioritize brownfields, and conduct
up to 12 Phase I and 4 Phase II environmental site
assessments. Grant funds also will be used to
conduct cleanup planning and support community
involvement activities, including translating some
materials into Spanish. Petroleum grant funds will
be used to conduct the same tasks at sites with
potential petroleum contamination.
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: City of Firebaugh,CA
(559) 659-2043
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-09-165
May 2009
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