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U.S. EPA AWARDS SACRAMENTO BROWNFIELDS PILOT PROJECT

Release Date: 9/26/1995
Contact Information: Paula Bruin, U.S. EPA, (415) 744-1587

 (San Francisco)--The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) today has awarded Sacramento a $200,000 grant to help fund the redevelopment of industrial sites, known as brownfields.  Sacramento is one of 15 nationwide cities U.S. EPA selected to participate in the pilot redevelopment project.  The city will receive the funding over a two-year period and will be used to revitalize contaminated properties and return them to thriving, productive use.

     "I am pleased to present this grant to the city of Sacramento to encourage the cleanup of contaminated industrial land and its return to productive community use," said Felicia Marcus, U.S. EPA's Regional Administrator.  "We firmly believe that environmental cleanup can bring life and strength to a community through jobs, an enhanced tax base, and vision for the community's future.  I thank Sacramento for their leadership and look forward to our partnership."

     The $200,000 will be used to determine effective ways of working with community members to ensure that cleanup is based upon community-supported land uses; to resolve liability concerns; to work with developers and lenders to identify impediments to redevelopment and identify solutions; to create a streamlined land re-use permitting process; and to serve as role model for other communities seeking effective methods for achieving economic redevelopment.

     "I believe participating in the pilot project will not only help Sacramento, but will help other cities find a way to improve their economic health and environment," said Mayor Joe Serna Jr.  "We look forward to working with U.S. EPA and the community in developing a system that will serve as a model to help redevelop urban sites across the country."

     Under this pilot, communities and developers will work together to restore abandoned sites and thereby create new jobs and economic growth, increase property values, stimulate tax revenues and rejuvenate neighborhoods.  All the national pilots will feature cooperative efforts between diverse community groups, investors, lenders, developers, regulators and other interested parties.
     
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