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/ ------- 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 ------- |