The City of Oakley Brownfields Program

"With certain legal exclusions and additions, the term “brownfield site” means 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." - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

 

INTRODUCTION

Grant Application
Oakley received a $200,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The City of Oakley applied for an Assessment Grant in March 2003. Oakley was one of 176 applicants selected out of over 1,300 proposals submitted to EPA. Diane Strassmaier of EPA notified the City of the award on June 20th, 2003. Since that time the City has submitted a work plan to EPA and entered into an official agreement with EPA. Strassmaier is the EPA project manager for Oakley's grant.

Ellen Bonneville, the former City of Oakley Redevelopment Director, lead the effort to submit the EPA grant application. She received support from former Mayor Tinker Vanek, City Manager Mike Oliver, other City Council members, Jim Hanson of EPA, and Malcolm Pirnie, Inc, an environmental consulting firm.

Community support was critical in winning the grant. During the application process, the City held community meetings to receive comments from City residents and interested stakeholders including local businesses. Several stakeholders sent letters of support to the City. Community members were given the opportunity to comment during the March 10, 2003 City Council Meeting. Members of the DuPont Community Advisory Group (CAG) and the Downtown Revitalization Task Force offered comments in a meeting held on March 11, 2003.

Update on Brownfields Program
Oakley's Brownfields Program is a continuing process. The process involves the identification of sites; prioritization of sites based on human health, the environment, and redevelopment potential; and environmental assessments of selected sites.

The City of Oakley is continuing to lead the Brownfields Program and has made significant progress on the program.

In the past several years, the following accomplishments have been achieved:

• Site prioritization was completed and submitted to USEPA
• The City Council passed a resolution to authorize the use of the Polanco Redevelopment Act (California Health and Safety Code Section 33459 et seq.) in the Redevelopment Project Areas.
• The City Council passed a resolution determining that the public interest and necessity require the acquisition of certain property located at 1731 Main St.
• Letters were sent to all identified potential brownfields property owners, requesting environmental records and permission to perform a site visit and interview.

Community support and participation will be needed throughout the Brownfields Program. Community meetings will be held throughout the Program. Please see the Oakley calendar for upcoming Brownfield Program community meetings. Please submit your comments on this program using the Feedback portion of this site or by contacting Barbara Mason.

BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM INFORMATION

Background
In the early 1990s, stakeholders expressed their concerns to EPA about the problems associated with brownfields across the country. More than 600,000 properties that were once used for industrial, manufacturing, or commercial uses were lying abandoned or underused due to the suspicion of hazardous substance contamination. Brownfield areas, particularly those in city centers, were contributing to blight and joblessness in surrounding communities. Unknown environmental liabilities were preventing communities, developers, and investors from restoring these properties to productive use and revitalizing impacted neighborhoods.

In 1994, EPA responded to the brownfield problem with an environmental protection approach that is locally based, encourages strong public-private partnerships, and promotes innovative and creative ways to assess, clean up, and redevelop brownfield sites. This approach empowers state, tribal, and local environmental and economic development officials to oversee brownfield activities, and encourages implementing local solutions to local problems. EPA also has provided funding to create local environmental job training programs to ensure that the economic benefits derived from brownfield revitalization efforts remain in local neighborhoods.

The Brownfields Law
On January 11, 2002, the President signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act (Brownfields Law). The Brownfields Law expands potential federal financial assistance for brownfield revitalization, including grants for assessment, cleanup, and job training. The law also limits the liability of certain contiguous property owners and prospective purchasers of brownfield properties, and clarifies innocent landowner defenses to encourage revitalization and reuse of brownfield sites.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Assessment Grants
Assessment grants provide funding for a grant recipient to inventory, characterize, assess, and conduct planning and community involvement related to brownfield sites. An eligible entity may apply for up to $200,000 to assess a site contaminated by hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants.

 

DOWNLOADS

City of Oakley Brownfield List