FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
30 June 2023
Contact: Kevin McGuire, 202-538-2386 (mobile)
CARSON, CA. – Today, Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman, Los Angeles County Sanitation District (LACSD) Assistant General Manager Martha Tremblay, Carson Mayor Lula Davis-Holmes and local partners on President Biden’s Investing in America tour announced $1,834,838 in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding secured by Congresswoman Nanette Barragán (CA-44) to help the LACSD revitalize and repurpose the former Fletcher Oil and Refining Company, provide clean water, and create 50,000 new jobs for the district.
“Communities of color in my district are disproportionally impacted by soot and smog pollution from nearby ports and refineries,” said Rep. Barragán. “Even when closed and condemned, the environmental damage done by these polluters to the local soil, groundwater, and air remains for generations to come, creating ongoing health issues for residents who live near them. When I voted for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, I voted for a transformational reinvestment in the communities of my district. Today, thanks in part to federal funding provided by the Biden-Harris Administration in partnership with the EPA, we are able to take the first steps to ensure environmental justice for residents of Carson and beyond.”
“EPA is proud to provide this nearly $2 million investment to clean up legacy contamination for our most impacted communities,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “Thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA is bringing unprecedented resources to our longstanding local partners, revitalizing underserved communities and advancing environmental justice.”
Funds will allow the LACSD to clean up over 36 acres of polluted and hazardous grounds. LACSD will also repurpose the site for a recycled water treatment facility, which will provide a new sustainable source of water, reduce regional reliance on imported water from the Colorado River, and create 50,000 new jobs.
This funding is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America Agenda, which is providing good paying jobs, clean air, and clean drinking water and strengthening communities that have been left behind for far too long. The funding comes via the EPA Brownfields program, which is receiving further investment via President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The program aims to transform and repurpose hazardous land in underserved and disadvantaged communities. Congresswoman Barragán is committed to supporting programs like these that can lead to better public health, facilitate job growth, increase the amount of open land & public parks for residents, and protect the health of the environment and local inhabitants of California’s 44th Congressional District and the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
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Nanette Diaz Barragán is proud to represent California’s 44th Congressional District, which includes the communities of Bellflower, Carson, Harbor City, Harbor Gateway, Lakewood, Long Beach, Lynwood, Paramount, Rancho Dominguez, San Pedro, South Gate, West Carson, and Wilmington. She serves as Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Health, Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Minerals Subcommittees.