About our selection process

To ensure a fair and equitable process, CAER used a weighted lottery system to select 50 residential sites for bioremediation.

We began by reviewing applications to confirm eligibility, focusing on factors such as presence of contaminants, technical feasibility, water access, and site access granted for a year to ensure the bioremediation process has time to work.

To make sure our resources reached those with the greatest need, we grouped eligible applicants by their property condition and geography. Our goal was to support 35 sites with standing or partial loss and 15 with total loss, with approximately 40 sites in the Eaton Fire Region and 10 in the Palisades Fire Region, meeting need based on documented ratios of pollution impacts and distribution of other forms of assistance.

Within these groups, we gave extra priority to households based other determinants of need and exposure risk: income, renter status, and the presence of at-risk populations: young children, pregnant individuals, and seniors. We also prioritized those from historically disadvantaged communities and those facing higher exposure risks. These factors were then used in a weighted random lottery, which allowed us to prioritize high-need households while keeping the process fair and giving every eligible applicant a chance to be selected.

A waitlist was created using this same process. Should any selected applicants decline our services, or should we gain additional funding to support additional remediation efforts, we will prioritize those on the waitlist, and expand our outreach efforts to reach any potentially eligible households that were not aware of the first round application.