Brownfields Supplemental Assistance

PILOT SNAPSHOT	Date of Announcement: May 2002 Amount: $150,000 Target Area: Shreveport, Louisiana
Profile: The Pilot plans to conduct assessments of 43 acres in the InterTech area, which is slated for redevelopment as a medical science and research park.

BACKGROUND

EPA awarded Shreveport supplemental assistance for its Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot. Shreveport (population 198,500) is the state's third largest city and is located at the crossroads of major rail and highway systems that transport large volumes of hazardous materials. During the regional decline of the oil industry in the 1980s, Shreveport lost 10,000 jobs, many of them located in the older inner-city industrial area. The inner city contains hundreds of acres of industrial sites that lie vacant due to the perceived threat of contamination. Fear of environmental liability is impeding redevelopment, increasing urban blight, and causing businesses to locate in prime agricultural areas outside the city. The urban core, a federal Empowerment Zone (EZ), has an unemployment rate of 20 percent and a poverty rate of 40 percent, approximately double the citywide rates.

The objective of the Pilot is to increase the economic and environmental viability of Shreveport's urban core neighborhoods. This is being accomplished by formalizing partnerships between the city and other organizations working toward revitalization; implementing environmental assessments at specific properties; promoting brownfields redevelopment opportunities; leveraging resources to attract federal, state, and private funds; and conducting outreach to business, educational, neighborhood, and other organizations.

OBJECTIVES

The city will use the supplemental assistance to conduct Phase I and Phase II assessments at two sites in the city's InterTech Area, which is in one of the oldest urban neighborhoods surrounding the city center. The area almost ceased to exist as an industrial area after 1969. Many of the buildings are abandoned or run down. Redevelopment plans are to convert the area into a planned medical science and research park.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

• Completing Phase I and Phase II environmental assessments at two sites comprising 43 acres in the InterTech area;
• Conducting Phase I environmental site assessments at up to seven additional priority sites;
• Updating and maintaining the city's brownfields database; and
• Continuing outreach and community involvement activities.

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

CONTACTS

City of Shreveport
Department of Operational Services
(318) 673-7660

Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA Region 6
(214) 665-6736

Visit the EPA Region 6 Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6sf/bfpages/sfbfhome.htm

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