] Brownfields 2011 Cleanup Grant Fact Sheet ™ Easf Pa/o A/to Redevelopment Agency, CA 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 Redevelopment Agency of the City of East Palo Alto was selected to receive a brownfields cleanup grant. Located in the San Francisco Bay area, East Palo Alto (population 26,233) is a predominantly low-income, minority community. The city contains many vacant and abandoned industrial properties, such as auto wrecking yards, plating shops, and waste processing facilities that have left behind a legacy of contaminated soils and groundwater. East Palo Alto's unemployment rate of 22 percent is over twice the national average, and 19 percent of residents live below the poverty level. The target site sits on a nine-acre peninsula that has been vacant and closed to the public since 1999. Site cleanup will reduce the threats of exposure to hazardous contaminants. The Redevelopment Agency plans to redevelop the site into a nature park and an environmental and history education center, and provide residents with direct access to San Francisco Bay. Cleanup Grant $200,000 for hazardous substances EPA has selected the Redevelopment Agency of the City of East Palo Alto for a brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to clean up the central portion of the Cooley Landing site at 2100 Bay Road. The site was a county dump from 1932 through 1957. In the 1960s, it housed a boat repair shop. Soils at the site are contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, metals, and PCBs. 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 415-972-3364 EPA Region 9 Brownfields Web site (http://www.epa.gov/region9/bro wnfields) Grant Recipient: Redevelopment Agency of the City of East Palo Alto,CA 650-853-3166 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-128-123 May 2011 ------- |