LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the City of Bellflower, Calif. recently celebrated the grand opening of “Fronk’s,” a new restaurant built on a former gas station with help from $65,000 in funds from EPA’s Brownfields and Underground Storage Tank (UST) Programs.
In 2011, EPA’s UST program provided approximately $12,000 for the initial assessment of the site to determine if any petroleum hydrocarbon from the former gas station had caused groundwater or soil contamination that may have impacted future site occupants and next door residents, reported the release, and in 2012, the site was transitioned to EPA’s Brownfields program which provided $53,000 towards a field investigation of the site.
During the investigation, the release continued, in addition to soil samples taken, two 500-gallon gasoline underground tanks, one 280-gallon waste oil underground tank and product lines were removed and recycled from the site.
“This project shows just how much can get done when public agencies and private owners work together to revitalize neighborhoods. To turn what used be a dilapidated gas station into a beautiful and functional addition to our growing Downtown just shows how far Bellflower has come, and is just one sign that Bellflower is back,” said Ray Dunton, mayor of the City of Bellflower.
“Returning contaminated land to productive use brings business and jobs back into communities, and protects human health and the environment,” said Jeff Scott director of the EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region’s Waste Management Division. “This new restaurant is a great example of how federal, state and local agencies can work together to clean and revitalize an urban site.”
Read the full release here.
