United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105) EPA 500-F-01-331 July 2001 www.epa.gov/brownfields/ &EPA Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Shreveport, 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 selectedthe City of Shreveport for a Brownfields Pilot. Shreveport (1990 Census population 198,525) is the state's third largest city and is located at the crossroads of major rail and highway systems that transport large volumes ofhazardous 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 partly to the presence or threat of contamination. Fear of environmental liability due to brownfields contamination is impeding redevelopment, increasing urban blight, and causing businesses to locate in prime agricultural areas outside the city. The urban core, designated a local empowerment zone (EZ), had an unemployment rate of 20 percent and a poverty rate of 40 percent in 1995-96. The area has been chosen for the federal National Performance Review program to demonstrate a comprehensive strategy for enhancing delivery of federal support to troubled neighborhoods. In 1995-96, citywide unemploymentwas 10.6percent, 24 percentof families were living in poverty, and 47 percent of the population was composed of minorities. PILOT SNAPSHOT Date of Award: July 1996 Amount: $200,000 Profile: The Pilot targets the abandoned industrialsiteswithinthe city's empowermentzone. Shreveport, Louisiana Contacts: Office of Environmental Affairs (318)673-6090 U.S. EPA-Region 6 (214)665-6736 Visit the EPA Region 6 Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/earth1rfi/6sf/bfpages/sfbfhome.htm Forfurther information, including specific Pilot contacts, additional Pilot information, brown fields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/ ------- OBJECTIVES LEVERAGING OTHER ACTIVITIES The overall objective of the Pilot is to increase the economic and environmental viability of Shreveport's urban core neighborhoods. This will be accomplished by formalizing partnerships between the city and other organizations concerned with economic and environmental revitalization; implementing environmental assessments at specific properties; promoting brownfieldsredevelopmentopportunities; leveraging resources to attract federal, state, and private funds; and coordinating business, educational, neighborhood, and other activities to achieve the overall objective. ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES The Pilot has: • Established a Brownfields Advisory Committee to enable participation by all stakeholdergroups in the Brownfields Initiative; • Identified and inventoried more than 300 potential brownfields sites using a geographic information system (GIS); • Completed Phase I and/or II environmental assessments at 4 of the 16 targeted properties (following Pilot assessments, the Allen/Ashton and Kings Highway properties were determined to require no cleanup activities); and • Helped sponsor "LouisianaBrownfieldsDay." The event was dedicated to highlighting brownfields economicdevelopmentopportunitiesfor legislators, government officials, developers, and others interested in brownfields redevelopment. The Pilot is: • Exploring legal, financial, and technological options for brownfields cleanup, planning, and redevelopment; • Educatingthe community about brownfields problems and opportunities in the targeted area; and • Providing a forum to develop community-based strategies for long-term brownfields cleanup and redevelopment. Experience with the Shreveport Pilot has been a catalyst for related activities, including the following: • Redevelopment activities are underway at six properties. • Ninety-five new redevelopment jobs were created. • A total of $ 16.3 million in redevelopment dollars was leveraged for the HICA Steel Foundry and Festival sites. • EPA awarded Shreveport a $350,000 Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund grant. • EPA selected Shreveport for a Brownfields Job Training Pilot grant. •EPA provided Shreveport with a $200,000 supplemental assistance brownfields assessment grant in 2000. Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot July 2001 Shreveport, Louisiana EPA 500-F-01-331 ------- |