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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that $1 million has been awarded to Southland communities to assess and clean historically contaminated properties, known as brownfields. According to the EPA, the state Department of Toxic Substances Control will receive $400,000 of the award for work in Los Angeles County, and the city of Brea will receive $600,000 in community-wide cleanup grants. ``EPA is committed to helping communities strengthen their local economy and neighborhoods by cleaning up abandoned industrial and commercial properties -- places where environmental cleanups and new jobs are needed most,'' said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA's regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest. ``These funds will help Southern California meet its goal of creating jobs and increasing economic competitiveness, while improving quality of life and protecting the environment.'' The grant awarded to DTSC will focus on Southern California's I-710 corridor, a 23-mile freeway that leads to the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles and is home to one of the state's largest concentrations of refineries and rail yards. About 1 million people -- including 90 percent minority and low-income communities -- are impacted by industrial activities and goods movement through this corridor, according to the EPA. DTSC will assess more than 30 sites in the communities of Willowbrook, Compton, Pico Rivera and Carson to determine what is necessary for cleanup and reuse. UC Irvine will assist DTSC in implementing planning and community engagement activities, the EPA said. Brea's grant will be used to transform an abandoned Union Pacific railroad right-of-way into the Tracks at Brea, a four-mile corridor of open space, walking and bike trails with connections to downtown, schools, senior and community centers, city parks, shopping and numerous employers, according to the EPA. The 50-acre community green space and multi-use trail for pedestrians and bicyclists will offer alternative transportation between neighborhoods while helping address contamination caused by over 100 years of railroad activity, the agency said.
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