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Brownfields 2008 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 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.
CLEANUP GRANT
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Lake Charles for a brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to clean up the former Sears and Roebuck retail store at 600 Ryan Street. The 30-year-old structure covers about four acres and is contaminated with metals, inorganic contaminants, and other hazardous substances. Grant funds also will be used to monitor the cleanup and conduct community outreach activities.
COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION
The City of Lake Charles was selected to receive a brownfields cleanup grant. Located at the convergence of Lake Charles and the Calcasieu River in southwestern Louisiana, Lake Charles (population 71,757) was seriously disrupted by Hurricane Rita in 2005. Nearly two-thirds of the housing stock in Calcasieu Parish, where Lake Charles is located, was damaged or destroyed by wind or flooding. However, the aftermath of the hurricane brought an economic boom to parts of Lake Charles as rebuilding efforts began. In the targeted brownfields communities of the city, the poverty rate is almost 30 percent, and over 86 percent of residents are minorities. These communities contain deteriorating buildings, boarded up commercial and industrial sites, and a riverfront that is inaccessible to the public. When the former Sears and Roebuck building is cleaned up, the city plans to redevelop it with retail and office space on the lower level and a hotel on the upper levels. This redevelopment is expected to catalyze adjacent development and support redevelopment of the riverfront.
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 Lake Charles, LA
337-491-1542
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.