c,EFA EPA Region 9 Brownfields Program Success Stories
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Environmental Protection « I I A T" I A j
Cartmil! Avenue Tulare, CA
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Flying High - Former Crop Dusting Property is Key to
Improving Cartmill Avenue Interchange
Proiect Description
Property Address:
596 Cartmill Avenue
Tulare, CA 93274
Property Size:
0.7 acres
Former Uses:
Storage facil ity for agricultural
crop dusting operation which
stored pesticides, seeds, other
related agriculture related
materials; planes also loaded
and cleaned onsite
Contaminants Found:
Orgatiochlorine pesticides,
chordane, DDE, DDT,
Dieldrin, Endrin. Several
metals also detected: arsenic.
barium, cadmium, chromium,
cobalt, copper, lead, nickel,
vanadium, zinc
Current Use:
Vacant
Planned Use:
Cartmill Avenue expansion
and interchange improvement
project
Current Owner:
City of Tulare, CA
Excavation ofonsitesoil
Highlights
Project is unique because of the front-end
collaboration that went into assessing and cleaning up
the site; the TSI was funded by DTSC and the cleanup
by a $200,000 EPA Cleanup grant
Site was purchased for $50,000; assessed and cleaned
up utilizing grant funds and in-kind staff time from the
City of Tulare; afterward appraised at $185,000
Improvement project has the potential to address
safety and design concerns as well as create new jobs
in Tulare, which is vital to reducing unemployment
rates and promoting economic recovery
Property History
From 1952 to 1982 the site operated as a storage
facility for an agricultural crop dusting operation.
Operations at the site led to pesticide and heavy
metals contamination. The site had been vacant since
Moore Aviation ceased crop dusting operations in
1982. In 2008, the City of Tulare bought the vacant
property to facilitate economic growth in the area.
The location of the property is key for the expansion
and interchange improvement of Cartmill Avenue,
since a portion of the expansion will go through the
property.
A Phase II Site Assessment was conducted in 2005
which identified the extent of the contamination.
In 2008, the California Department of Toxic
Substances Control (DTSC) funded the Targeted
Site Investigation (TSI) to evaluate areas of the site
identified as areas of potential concern in the Site
Assessment. A $200,000 EPA Cleanup grant funded
the cleanup of the site. The site was excavated and
contaminated materials were hauled off site. Cleanup
was completed March 2010.
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Drivers for Redevelopment
Improvements to Cartmill Avenue are needed to
support economic growth on the north end of Tulare;
the improvements will facilitate the development of
approximately one million square feet of retail space.
The site was chosen for redevelopment because
of its proximity to the Cartmill Avenue street and
interchange improvement project. The street and
interchange improvement project could not move
forward until the Moore Aviation site was remediated;
as part of the street realignment, the expansion will
go through the Moore Aviation site. Without this site
clean and available the entire street and interchange
project could have been at risk, including the
potential retail/commercial development - improved
traffic flow was needed to secure the development.
The previous site developer did not want the task
of remediating this parcel because of previous
challenges regarding getting closure on contaminated
sites. The city was able to intervene, purchase the site,
and complete the remediation quickly and effectively
through established partnerships with DTSC and
EPA, both of which were invaluable in completing the
cleanup of the Moore Aviation site.
With an unemployment rate of 13.1 percent, the
City of Tulare tends to have higher unemployment
and lower incomes than elsewhere in the state and
nation. The city is constantly striving to improve the
community, and provide the infrastructure needed
to promote economic
development and job
creation. In addition
to its safety, capacity
and circulation
benefits, the Cartmill
Avenue interchange
reconstruction is seen
as the key to unlocking
significant large-scale
regional commercial
economic development
investments in all
four quadrants of
the Cartmill/SR 99
intersection. These
investments will result
in significant local job
creation and improve
an economically
distressed area; they
will also greatly diversify and improve access to jobs
for underemployed and disadvantaged people. The
potential to create new jobs in Tulare through this
improvement project is vital to the ability to reduce
unemployment rates and promote economic recovery.
Project Results
The site has been cleaned up and Tulare is currently
securing the final funding needed for the Cartmill
realignment and interchange improvement project
The project will modify the existing interchange
to provide the necessary capacity for future traffic
volumes, and facilitate the future development of the
entire Cartmill Avenue regional corridor.
Physical changes planned to bring the Cartmill
Avenue/SR 99 interchange into a more productive
role in the region's economy for the next 50 years
include:
Constructing Cartmill Avenue and the new
Cartmill Avenue overcrossing to a 6-lane divided
arterial standard with a design speed of 50 mph
Constructing a new signalized northbound SR 99
off-ramp to Cartmill Avenue with a two-lane exit
from SR 99 and a 1,300 foot long auxiliary lane
Constructing a new direct connecting signalized
on-ramp from Cartmill Avenue to southbound
SR 99 with a single lane entrance to SR 99 and a
1,000 foot auxiliary lane
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Proposed plan for Cartmill Avenue
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Relocating the existing southbound SR 99 off-
ramp to M Street to a new signalized connection
with Cartmill Avenue east of M Street
Constructing a new signalized two lane Akers
Street east of its existing location to provide
necessary separation between it and the adjacent
northbound ramp location
Construction of a modified Type L-9 east of
the freeway, and a Type L-l to the west of the
freeway; each ramp lane of the interchange will
include a traffic census/data collection loop
In addition to addressing safety and design concerns
with the current interchange, the project will allow
and encourage the economic development of the area
surrounding Cartmill Avenue. The range of benefits
from the project includes:
Providing additional capacity both to relieve
existing traffic congestion and accommodate
planned growth
Providing improved east-west traffic circulation
within the city by accommodating the ultimate
build-out of Cartmill Avenue in accordance with
the city's Circulation Element
Providing improved access to SR 99 within the
northern area of the city
Enhancing safety through the correction of
existing conditions that do not meet current design
standards
Accommodating future widening of SR 99
by correcting existing vertical and horizontal
clearance deficiencies
Increasing sales tax and Transit Occupancy Tax
(TOT) revenues to the City of Tulare
For additional information, please contact:
Betsy McCovern-Carcia Project Manager City of Tulare 559.684.4254 bmcgovern@ci.tulare.ca.us
Project Partners
California Department of Toxic Substances Control
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
LFR, Inc. (Site Assessment)
Project Navigator, Ltd.
Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR)
Funding Information
$75,000 California DTSC In-Kind Value
$200,000 EPA Cleanup Grant
Project Timeline
1952 -1982 Storage facility for Moore Aviation
May 2008 Acquisition by City of Tulare
May 2009 Final Targeted Site Investigation Report
March 2010 Cleanup Complete
July 2010 No Further Action Received
"This project would not have been possible
without the support of DTSC and EPA,
including technical guidance, funding and
best practice information."
Betsy McGovern-Garcia - Project Manager
Region 9 Brownfields Success Story
Moore Aviation, Tulare, CA
May 2012
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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