Q \ Brownfields 2009 Cleanup Grant Fact $Z2Z^ Sheet %,.«* Riverside County 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 Riverside County Redevelopment Agency was selected to receive a brownfields cleanup grant. The Agency will clean up a site in Romoland (population 2,764), which was founded in 1889. The community's early employment concentrated around a vineyard and orange groves, where petroleum- and metals-based pesticides were initially used. Chlorinated pesticides were then used from the 1950s to 1970s. The community, which emerged from this former rural landscape, has older commercial properties and lower-income housing. Today, the community's unemployment rate is 10.1 percent, and almost 46 percent of residents are minorities. Its growing housing and commercial atmosphere and proximity to recreational opportunities provide potential for successful redevelopment. When the target site is cleaned up, the Agency plans to redevelop it for retail, restaurant, or hotel space. Redevelopment is expected to create jobs, strengthen the tax base, and complement other redevelopment in the community. Cleanup Grant $200,000 for petroleum (Recovery Act Funding) EPA has selected the Riverside County Redevelopment Agency for a brownfields cleanup grant. Petroleum grant funds will be used to clean up the Trumble Road and Highway 74 site at 25351 Trumble Road in Romoland. The four-acre site was formerly used as a car dealership and for trailer storage. It is contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons associated with hydraulic lifts and trenches, and above-ground storage tanks. Grant funds also will be used to implement institutional controls and support community involvement 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/bro wnfields) Grant Recipient: Redevelopment Agency for the County of Riverside,CA (951)955-2065 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-09-197 May 2009 ------- |