The Environmental Services Division (ESD) of the City of Oakland is planning to apply for Brownfields Assessment grants from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) for the year 2009. USEPA brownfields grants support environmental management and protection that is locally-based, encourage strong public-private partnerships, and promote innovative and creative ways to assess, cleanup and redevelop impacted sites. For more information on the USEPA Brownfields program, please visit USEPA’s website at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/.


Brownfields are abandoned, idled or underused industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination.

Foothill/Seminary Site

The City of Oakland is seeking site-specific hazardous substances assessment funds for the site located at the intersection of Foothill Avenue and Seminary Avenue for redevelopment of the area. The Site is proposed for mixed-use (commercial and residential) redevelopment. The City of Oakland’s Redevelopment Agency is assisting in the redevelopment of the Site.

The Foothill Boulevard/Seminary Avenue property (Site) is bounded by Foothill Boulevard to the north, Seminary Avenue to the east, Bancroft Avenue to the south and private properties to the west. Phase I and II environmental site assessments (ESAs) have been performed on portions of the Site for the Oakland Redevelopment Agency. The City is applying for Grant funds that will be utilized to evaluate the unexplored sections of the Site. The City is proposing to apply for the maximum allowable Brownfields Assessment Grant of $200,000 for further evaluation of these properties.

West Oakland (Community-wide)

The City of Oakland is seeking community-wide petroleum and hazardous substances assessment grants of $200,000 each for brownfield sites in west Oakland. This grant will support land redevelopment efforts in west Oakland, where numerous industrial and commercial parcels need revitalization. The purpose of the environmental assessments is to evaluate the potential for environmental impacts at the properties from historical use or from off-site sources. The grant monies will be utilized mainly for conducting Phase I Environmental Assessments, Phase II investigations involving soil, ground water, and soil gas sampling, risk assessment in the identified site areas, and community outreach activities.


The deadline for submitting the grant applications to the EPA is November 14, 2008. If you have questions or comments on these proposals, please call Mark Gomez, Environmental Program Supervisor, at 238-7314. You may also send him an email at mmgomez@oaklandnet.com.