Brownfields 2007 Grant Fact Sheet

National City Community Development Commission, 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. On January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields 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.

ASSESSMENT GRANT

$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the National City Community Development Commission for a brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to develop an area-wide inventory of sites, perform between ten and 15 Phase I and up to five Phase II environmental site assessments, and conduct community outreach activities in the city's Westside Neighborhood.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The National City Community Development Commission was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. National City (population 54,200) is in the southwest region of San Diego County, nine miles north of the Mexican border. The Westside Neighborhood, targeted for assessment, is the poorest neighborhood in the county. The median household income is 55 percent of the county median, and about 31 percent of residents live below the poverty level. Over 95 percent of students in the local elementary school are of Hispanic origin. Many of the neighborhood homes are located immediately adjacent to the industrial and commercial businesses that use or store hazardous materials. Assessment of brownfields is essential to determine those sites that are impacting public health. Brownfields redevelopment is needed to provide affordable housing and mixed-use projects and increase the walkability of the neighborhood.

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 at: www.epa.gov/brownfields.

EPA Region 9 Brownfields Team
415-972-3092
http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/brown/index.html

Grant Recipient: National City Community Development Commission, CA
619-336-4250

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.