Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE)
Added Benefits for CARE Communities
Technical Assistance from EPA’s Brownfields Program
Brownfields are properties which are abandoned or underutilized because of real or perceived contamination. Cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties takes development pressures off of undeveloped, open land, and helps protect the environment. By participating in CARE, communities are eligible to receive additional assistance from EPA’s Targeted Brownfields Assessment (TBA) program if they are awarded a Level 1 CARE cooperative agreement. This program helps localities minimize the risks of contamination often associated with brownflelds. For more information on TBAs, see: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/facts/tba_0403.htm
Legal Assistance from American Bar Association (ABA)
The ABA invites attorneys to volunteer their legal services to CARE communities. Several communities have used pro bono legal services. A community in Pacoima, California, found the legal assistance to be very valuable: “Pacoima Beautiful did not have the capacity to research the permitting and regulatory requirements of businesses. To have the benefit of someone who could, specifically attorneys, was of great benefit. As we move forward, we can anticipate all kinds of other needs we will have with regard to regulations and land use concerns.” For more information, see: http://www.abanet.org/environ/publicservice/careprogram.shtml 
Third-party Facilitation and Alternative Dispute Resolution
EPA can assist a CARE community by providing an outside facilitator to help the CARE project team agree on its highest risks and build consensus on a course of action to reduce these risks. EPA’s Conflict Prevention and Resolution Center has provided such assistance to a number of CARE communities and has published evaluations of work with CARE. For more information, see: https://www.epa.gov/adr/cprc_evaluation.html