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May—June 2017 Pacific Southwest Newsletter

May—June 2017

EPA in the Pacific Southwest NewsletterServing Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Pacific Islands, 148 Tribal Nations

Cleaning Up Contamination and Revitalizing Local Economies

Aerial view of the pittsburg california waterfrontEPA awarded the City of Pittsburg, Calif., a $300,000 grant as part of the $56.8 million awarded nationally to 172 recipients to assess and clean up historically contaminated properties, also known as brownfields, to help local governments redevelop vacant and unused properties, transforming communities and local economies. Pittsburg will use the funds to focus revitalization efforts on downtown and industrial waterfront properties.


A Job Training Success Story

Hire Graduates of Brownfields Job Training ProgramsEnvironmental Workforce Development and Job Training grants support nonprofit and other organizations in recruiting, training and placing predominantly low-income, minority and unemployed people living in areas affected by solid and hazardous waste. Residents learn the skills needed to secure full-time, sustainable employment in the environmental field, including assessment and cleanup. These green jobs reduce environmental contamination and build more sustainable futures for communities.


Students Honored with President’s Environmental Youth Award

Students and teach working with shovelsStudents from Fremont and Watsonville, Calif., are among the nationwide recipients of the President’s Environmental Youth Award, which is presented each year to K-12 students who demonstrate the initiative, creativity, and problem-solving skills needed to address environmental problems and find sustainable solutions. The California students worked on water conservation and protection of an endangered shorebird.

Enforcement Update

Settlement Resolves Oil Spill Violations

In 2016, a tanker truck overturned in Southern California, discharging about 88 barrels of diesel fuel that migrated through storm drains into the San Diego River and adjoining shorelines. The river flows into Mission Bay and the Pacific Ocean. EPA was one of several agencies involved in the cleanup, which was completed in September 2016.