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Brownfields 2008 Grant Fact Sheet
Alexandria, 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 this 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 hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Alexandria for a brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to set up a geographic information system inventory of sites, conduct about 15 Phase I and two Phase II environmental site assessments, and support community outreach activities.
COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION
The City of Alexandria was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. Located in central Louisiana, Alexandria (population 49,000) is the parish seat and largest city in Rapides Parish. It is a federally designated Enterprise and Renewal Community. Almost 55 percent of the city's residents are African-American, and 27.4 percent of residents live below the poverty level. As a centrally located hub, Alexandria was once supported by the refineries, chemical plants, and manufacturing facilities that thrived in the area, as well as their supporting industries, such as railroads, truck depots, and pipelines. However, urban flight and relocation of commercial facilities that followed the out-migration of residents to the suburbs have left behind blighted and abandoned properties. These sites are predominantly near low-income neighborhoods and sensitive populations. Assessment of brownfields is expected to help the city address potential threats to human health and the environment and motivate residents to continue community improvements.
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.
EPA Region 6 Brownfields Team
214-665-6780
EPA Region 6 Brownfields web site
Grant Recipient: City of Alexandria, LA
318-473-1174
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.