United States
                      Environmental
                      Protection Agency
                      Washington, D.C. 20460
 Solid Waste
 and Emergency
 Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-01-031
June 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
    &EPA    Brownfields  Assessment
                      Demonstration  Pilot
                                                                      Gretna, LA
 Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
                   Quick Reference Fact Sheet
EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other
stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and
sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and
an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. EPA is funding:  assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded
up to $200,000 over two years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models; job training
pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected
by brownfields to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental
field; and, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds
to make loans for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states,
tribes, municipalities, and communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods
to promote a unified approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.
BACKGROUND
EPA selected the City of Gretna for a Brownfields
Pilot.  Approximately 17,200 people live in Gretna,
which is located on the Mississippi River outside of
New Orleans.  With 29.9 percent of residents living
below the poverty level and an unemployment rate of
11.2 percent, the State of Louisiana designated Gretna
as an Enterprise Zone.

The Pilot targets brownfields sites in the Gretna
Riverfront Industrial Corridor, a 21.7-acre area located
on the north side of Gretna adjacent to the city's
historic district and downtown area.  In the area,
houses and small businesses are interspersed with rail
lines andport, shipping, and industrial facilities. The
Pilot targets four sites—Ward Lumber, NJM City
Properties, the former city dump, andMalter Chemical.
The 5.6-acre Malter  Chemical site, adjacent to a
Registered National Historical District, presents the
most apparent environmental hazard and is close to
the city's poorest minority residents.

In 1992, EPA conducted limited cleanup at the Malter
site to reduce risks of fires  and  from hazardous
materials spills.   Uncertainty about remaining
contamination at the site has hindered redevelopment.
The  Pilot  plans  to complete  an  environmental
assessment of that property and the others to determine
PILOT SNAPSHOT
    Gretna, Louisiana
                       Date of Award:
                       September 1998

                       Amount: $200,000

                       Profile: The Pilottargets
                       brownfieldsinthe217-acre
                       RiverfrontlndustrialCoiridor
                       on the city's north side,
                       alongafour-mile stretch of
                       the Mississippi River.
Contacts:
City City of Gretna
(504)363-1505
  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:
         http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/

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the extent of the contamination, estimate cleanup
costs, and determine possible reuses for the sites.

OBJECTIVES
The city's objective is to design a new blueprint for
neighborhood revitalization, one that  relies on
collaboration among  citizens, businesses,  and
government representatives. Gretna will use the Pilot
to jump-start its brownfields revitalization efforts.
The city plans to leverage the Pilot's efforts into a
self-sustaining program that is able to systematically
clean up and redevelop brownfields throughout the
Industrial Corridor.  The Pilot will rely on citizen
involvement to identify other brownfields, prioritize
them, and plan their cleanup and redevelopment.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
The Pilot has:
• Convened a brownfields consortium comprising
  citizens,  government representatives,  lenders,
  developers, and economic development leaders to
  share information on the city's brownfields sites,
  select priority sites, and develop specific cleanup
  and reuse options.
The Pilot is:
• Conducting two rounds of  targeted community
  meetings to share information on the city's brownfield
  sites and obtain  feedback from citizens  and
  neighborhood residents; and
• Developing cleanup plans for the targeted sites.
LEVERAGING OTHER ACTIVITIES
Experience with the GretnaPilot has been the catalyst
for related activities, includingthe following:

• The Pilot completed assessments at three sites with
 leveraged funding.
• Cleanup activities are completed at one site and
 underway at another site—both sites are undergoing
 redevelopment activities.
• The city was awarded an additional $500,000 grant
 under EPA's Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan
 Fund Pilot program.
 Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot
 June 2001
                                Gretna, Louisiana
                               EPA 500-F-01-031

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