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Carson secures multiple brownfields grants totaling about $4.4 million; staff eyes EPA job‑training application
Summary
City staff reported competitive brownfields funding the city has won recently, including grants for site investigations, citywide brownfields work and a new $1 million EPA revolving loan fund; board discussed using grants to catalyze redevelopment and workforce training for refinery workers.
City of Carson staff told the Carson Enhancement Infrastructure Financing District Public Financing Authority on June 23 that the city has secured several competitive brownfields and brownfield‑related grants totaling approximately $4,400,000 over the past three years and is preparing an EPA brownfields job‑training application.
Manager of Special Projects James Wynne said the city recently received about $236,000 for additional site investigation on a 24‑acre EIFD property, a $500,000 EPA grant to address brownfields citywide, and a $1,000,000 EPA grant to establish a revolving loan fund to support cleanup and redevelopment. Wynne said the revolving loan fund could enable the city to work with private entities to clean and develop contaminated properties. He said, in total, the city has obtained eight competitive brownfields and related grants in the past three years.
Wynne credited a staff‑initiated Brownfield Advisory Committee that includes members of the economic, planning and environmental commissions, university partners, workforce representatives and public health participants. Wynne said the city is using university partners to help market brownfield opportunities and to solicit community nominations for sites.
Vice Chair Terozas suggested a brownfields job‑training concept for local residents, and Wynne said the EPA is expected to release a brownfields job training grant opportunity later in the month; the city is preparing an application due in the fall. Wynne said the idea came from Vice Chair Terozas and that staff is coordinating with the local workforce investment board to align training with anticipated cleanup work as refinery closures create job transitions.
A county representative said the county is developing a career pathway program for laid‑off refinery workers and offered to connect city staff with county human resources and economic opportunity departments to strengthen the city—s application. Wynne and board members discussed the Phillips 66 decommissioning process; staff said Phillips 66 is in a decommission stage, has met multiple times with city officials and that any future redevelopment would involve DTSC oversight and an eventual request for proposals (RFP) when the site is ready.
Wynne emphasized that many redevelopment parcels in Carson are formerly used industrial or landfill sites and require drilling and site investigation to determine remediation needs before they can be redeveloped. Wynne said that work is a major reason the city pursues brownfields funding: "We don't have green fields where we can just build this from scratch. We have to work a little bit from behind and try to get these sites up to where they can actually be developed."
The board received the presentation. Wynne said staff expects to submit a brownfields job training grant application later this year and noted the city has maintained a high success rate on competitive brownfield applications in recent years.
Ending: Staff said it will continue grant work, pursue the job‑training application, and coordinate with the county on workforce pathways for displaced refinery workers.
