As part of a joint project between the City of Sacramento and the County of Sacramento, BERC previously administered two successful U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Community-Wide Brownfields Assessment Grants (for a total of $400,000) to promote revitalization and reuse of older urban neighborhoods, redevelopment areas, and commercial corridors county-wide.
The U.S. EPA defines brownfields as “real property, the expansion, development, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.”
The goal of the BERC Brownfields Program was to help property owners better understand the steps that can be taken to reduce uncertainty and move ahead with reuse or redevelopment of brownfields. Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments helped remove uncertainty about the presence or absence of contamination, which helped remove barriers to redevelopment. BERC also helped owners to understand the remediation or cleanup process, which included a wide array of options.
BERC Brownfields Program accomplishments:
- Inventory of contaminated properties and strategy for outreach
- Informational workshops and targeted outreach
- Twenty-six (26) environmental consultations for individual property owners
- Thirteen (13) Phase I Environmental Site Assessments
- Twelve (12) Phase II Environmental Site Assessments
The BERC Brownfields Program is currently inactive.
For more information, contact BERC at (916) 649-0225.
