All News Releases By Date

U.S. EPA AWARDS $200,000 BROWNFIELDS GRANT TO CITY OF COLTON

Release Date: 4/22/1999
Contact Information: Lois Grunwald, U.S. EPA, (415) 744-1588, Kathy Kivley, Assistant to Manager, City of Colton, (909) 370-5053

     (San Francisco) -- To help Colton realize its vision of redeveloping the City Center-Rancho Mill Street area in the northwest section of the city, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) awarded Colton a $200,000 Brownfields grant to assess potential contamination at former industrial sites in the 2-square mile area.  Restoring these brownfields sites is a key element of Colton's Revitalization Plan.

     Brownfields are abandoned or under-used industrial or commercial areas where redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination. Property owners, lenders, investors and developers often fear that involvement with these sites will make them liable for contamination they did not create.  Brownfields grants can remove this roadblock to reuse by determining actual cleanup needs, assessing costs, and identifying financing.  EPA is involved with over 200 brownfields projects nationwide.

     "In Southern California, U.S. EPA currently has brownfields projects underway in the cities of Montebello, Los Angeles, Long Beach, West Hollywood, Santa Barbara, Pomona, and San Diego,"  said Keith Takata, U.S. EPA's Superfund director.  "I want to welcome Colton to our network of cities improving their environment through economic redevelopment."

     "We are very excited about the opportunity these grant funds will provide our community, particularly in an area of such great need," said Colton Mayor Karl E. Gaytan.  "This will be another positive turning point towards our city's efforts to bring industry and primary income jobs that are badly needed throughout our Inland Empire Region."

     Colton's brownfields project will spur redevelopment of a section of the city with a number of vacant industrial properties.  Little redevelopment has taken place in the area due to the fear of liability associated with potential environmental contamination.  Colton and surrounding jurisdictions have also suffered economically from the closing of nearby Norton Air Force Base in 1994.

      U.S. EPA's grant will assist the city of Colton's efforts to redevelop abandoned and underused properties by funding soil and groundwater testing, determining cleanup costs and developing cleanup plans where needed, and investigating sources of cleanup financing. Part of the grant will also be used to conduct outreach activities that will encourage community and business participation and cooperation in the project.

     The EPA's Brownfields Initiative is designed to empower states, local governments, and other stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together to assess, clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields properties. The Initiative addresses the concerns of prospective developers and lenders concerned about inheriting cleanup liability for property that is contaminated or perceived to be contaminated.  In addition, the Brownfields Initiative helps curb urban sprawl by attracting business and jobs back to existing industrial sites, thereby helping preserve farmland and open space.

     Further information on the Brownfields grant awards can be obtained from EPA's Brownfields Home Page at: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields .