Brownfields 2006 Grant Fact Sheet

Shreveport-Bossier Community Renewal, Shreveport, 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.

CLEANUP GRANT

$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected Shreveport-Bossier Community Renewal for a brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to clean up the Petroleum Tower building at 425 Edwards Street in downtown Shreveport. Funds also will be used to conduct community outreach activities.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

Shreveport-Bossier Community Renewal (SBCR) was selected to receive a brownfields cleanup grant. Serving Shreveport and Bossier City (combined population 256,000), SBCR is a non-profit organization working to transform neighborhoods and rebuild troubled sections of the city. More than half of Shreveport residents are African-American, and the city's poverty rate is 27 percent. In the city's urban core, where the target property is located, the poverty rate approaches 75 percent, and the unemployment rate is at least 30 percent. SBCR plans to clean up the Petroleum Tower, a 1960s office building, and redevelop it as the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified building in Louisiana. Cleanup of the site is expected to enhance the declining downtown area. After renovation, the Petroleum Tower will be used as the National Training Center for Community Renewal (NTCCR). The center will provide training for people from around the country in proven community renewal methods. SBCR anticipates employing 50 to 75 people in the NTCCR and expects monthly seminars to attract many visitors to the city. This redevelopment is expected to spur additional revitalization and bring a variety of employment opportunities to the downtown area, including jobs at the new convention center, riverfront establishments, and casinos.

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: Shreveport-Bossier Community Renewal, LA
318-425-3222

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