Brownfields 2006 Grant Fact Sheet

New Orleans Regional Business Park, LA

EPA BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields Law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through four competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.

ASSESSMENT GRANTS

$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the New Orleans Regional Business Park for two brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to inventory and characterize sites, complete at least six Phase I and three Phase II environmental site assessments, and prepare at least two risk-based cleanup plans for sites in the regional business park in eastern New Orleans. The inventory and characterization of brownfields also will include properties potentially contaminated by flooding related to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Petroleum grant funds will be used to perform the same tasks at sites with potential petroleum contamination.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The New Orleans Regional Business Park (NORBP) was selected to receive two brownfields assessment grants. One of the largest industrial parks in the United States, the NORBP is a 7,000-acre business park located completely within the boundaries of the City of New Orleans (population 469,032). Approximately 286 potential brownfields have been identified throughout New Orleans. At least 12 of these are within the NORBP district. One of the largest brownfields in the area is a former municipal incinerator. In addition, there are illegal refuse dump sites, automobile junkyards, and pesticide manufacturers. The largely African-American population (77.3 percent) of the NORBP census tract has few conveniences and contains the majority of the city's large-scale apartment complexes. Prior to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, approximately 87 firms employing 11,743 individuals and generating spending that supported another 26,428 jobs in the New Orleans economy were operating in the NORBP. However, economic development in the NORBP district has been stifled by the presence of unsightly commercial operations and practices that have created blight and environmental risks. Assessment and eventual cleanup of the brownfields in the NORBP will preserve greenspace and natural resources, create jobs, and increase the district's economic development potential.

CONTACTS

For further information, including specific grant contacts, additional grant information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/brownfields.

EPA Region 6 Brownfields Team 214-665-2241 http://www.epa.gov/region6/brownfields

Grant Recipient: New Orleans Regional Business Park, LA
504-710-5559

The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.