[StBernard] News Release (Region 6): Louisiana to get cleaner, greener with $1 million from EPA

[Westley Annis]

Louisiana to get cleaner, greener with $1 million from EPA 
More than $5 million in brownfields funding awarded across region     

(Dallas, Texas - April 7, 2008)  Several groups in Louisiana will be working
to transform polluted properties into community assets with the help of $1
million in brownfields grants from the Environmental Protection Agency.


The grants were announced today by EPA to support cleanup efforts in the
cities of Alexandria, Lake Charles and New Orleans.     

"EPA continues to use the brownfields program to stimulate environmental and
economic success in our communities," said EPA Regional Administrator
Richard E. Greene.  "This program is a great example of how federal and
local groups can work together to turn contaminated properties into viable
developments."      

Brownfields are vacant, abandoned or under-used properties with
redevelopment potential that suffer from known or perceived environmental
contamination.  More than $5 million in brownfields grants were announced
today across EPA Region 6, which includes Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico,
Oklahoma and Texas.    

Louisiana's brownfields recipients include the following: 

* City of New Orleans - two brownfields grants totaling $400,000 to assess
sites with hazardous substances and potential petroleum contamination and to
conduct community outreach.  The city has identified 267 brownfields sites
and 177 closed service stations.  Redevelopment plans for the sites include
housing and greenspaces. 

* Jericho Road Episcopal Housing Initiative, LLC - $200,000 to clean up the
Saratoga Street Incinerator site in New Orleans.  Soil at the site is
contaminated with volatile organic compounds, metals, polychlorinated
biphenyls, and dioxins.  Once cleanup is complete, the property will be used
for single-family residences and a community garden. 

* City of Lake Charles - $200,000 to clean up the former Sears and Roebuck
retail store on Ryan Street.  The 30-year-old structure covers about four
acres and is contaminated with metals, inorganic contaminants, and other
hazardous substances.  Future plans include redeveloping the property into a
hotel with retail and office space.  

* City of Alexandria - $200,000 to set up a geographic information system
inventory of sites, conduct assessments, and support community outreach.
Former refinery, chemical, and manufacturing activities have left hazardous
substances in several areas.  Assessment of these brownfields sites is
expected to spur community improvements.     

Since the beginning of the program in 1995, EPA's south central region has
leveraged $2.3 billion in brownfields cleanup and redevelopment, helped
create 10,700 jobs and supported the assessment of 750 properties.  The
brownfields program encourages redevelopment of America's estimated 450,000
abandoned and contaminated waste sites.  Nationally, brownfields assistance
has attracted more than $11.3 billion in private investment, helped create
more than 48,000 jobs and resulted in the assessment and cleanup of nearly
12,000 properties.      

Additional information on the brownfields recipients and their projects is
available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/6sf/bfpages/sfbfhome.htm
<http://www.epa.gov/region6/6sf/bfpages/sfbfhome.htm> .     

To learn more about activities in EPA Region 6, please visit
http://www.epa.gov/region6 <http://www.epa.gov/region6> .      

An EPA audio file is available at
http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/audio.htm#audio040308_louisiana
<http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/audio.htm#audio040308_louisiana> . 

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