Mayor Jerry Brown accepted the million-dollar check on behalf ofthe city. The check will allow Oakland to offer loans to developersand contractors to pay for brownfield site assessment, technicalassistance and the development of remedial action plans.

The money was given by the California Recycle UnderutilizedSites (Cal ReUSE) program, which was set up by the CaliforniaPollution Control Financing Authority. Angelides says that one ofthe main obstacles to redeveloping brownfields is the uncertaintyassociated with the initial assessment work.

In many cases, a developer spends thousands of dollars on theinitial assessment only to find that the cost of cleanup would farexceed construction costs. Cal ReUSE loans convert entire loansinto grants, in the event that results of an assessment determinethat redevelopment is not financially viable.