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  Brownfields 2004

  Grant  Fact Sheet

  Northwest Louisiana

            Council of

     Governments,  LA



EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders in economic development
to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up,
and sustainably reuse brownfields. Abrownfield site is
real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse
of which may be complicated by the presence or
potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant,
or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, the President
signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and
Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields
Law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible
applicants through four competitive grant programs:
assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup
grants, and job training grants. Additionally, funding
support is provided to state and tribal response pro-
grams through a separate mechanism.

Community Description

The Northwest Louisiana Council of Governments was
selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant.
The target sites are located in a low-income, high-
unemployment neighborhood of Shreveport (population
252,161). Eighty-seven percent of the target commu-
nity population of 2,026 is minority. The average per
capita income of residents in the area is $10,349, less
than half the national per capita income. During the
regional decline of the oil industry in the 1980s, Shreve-
port lost 10,000 jobs, many of them in the older, inner-
city industrial area. The inner city has hundreds of
acres of potentially contaminated industrial sites. The
                        Assessment Grant
                        $152,429 for hazardous substances

                        EPA has selected the Northwest Louisiana
                        Council of Governments for a brownfields assess-
                        ment grant. Grant funds will be used to conduct
                        community outreach activities and perform Phase
                        II post-demolition environmental assessments and
                        cleanup planning at two properties located in an
                        industrial park in central Shreveport.
                        Contacts
                        For further information, including specific grant
                        contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
                        news and events, and publications and links, visit
                        the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/
                        brownfields

                        EPA Region 6 Brownfields Team
                        214-665-2180
                        http://www.epa.gov/region6/brownfields

                        Grant Recipient: Northwest Louisiana Council of
                        Governments, LA
                        318-841-5950

                        The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
                        yet been negotiated; therefore, the activities
                        described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
                      two target properties are part of the InterTech Science
                      Park, a combination of technology-based businesses
                      and ventures dedicated to medical, scientific, and
                      biotechnology development in progress in the inner-city
                      section of Shreveport. Assessment and cleanup of
                      these properties will help move the tech park along,
                      providing many employment opportunities for the
                      residents of surrounding communities.
                        Solid Waste and
                        Emergency Response
                        (5105T)
                                                                     EPA560-F-04-162
                                                                     June 2004
                                                                     www.epa.gov/brownfields

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