Brownfields 2007 Grant Fact Sheet

Lake Charles, 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 GRANT

$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the City of Lake Charles for a brownfields assessment grant. Petroleum grant funds will be used to perform at least four Phase I environmental site assessments at former oil terminal properties, an additional 12 Phase I assessments at former gas stations and automotive repair sites, and from four to seven Phase II environmental site assessments. Funds also will be used to extend the existing brownfields inventory and conduct community outreach.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The City of Lake Charles was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. Located along Interstate 10 and two rail lines, Lake Charles (population 71,757) is an important intermodal port city. Like many American cities, the economy of Lake Charles changed with the construction of highways, military base relocations, and population shifts to the suburbs. The neighborhoods targeted for assessments, the downtown and Charpentier district and the North Lake Charles area, are home to about 15 percent of the city's residents. These are minority communities where median household incomes are only 59 percent of the city median, and the poverty rate is nearly 30 percent. Residents live in proximity to deteriorating buildings and boarded up commercial and industrial sites. Brownfields make the riverfront in North Lake Charles inaccessible to area residents. Assessment of brownfields will help facilitate revitalization of these neighborhoods. The city plans to convert the riverfront into an accessible commercial area and construct new housing in the downtown area.

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
214-665-6780
http://www.epa.gov/region6/brownfields

Grant Recipient: City of Lake Charles, LA
337-491-1292

The information presented in this fact sheet comes from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. The cooperative agreement for the grant has not yet been negotiated. Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.