United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-00-133
May 2000
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
\>EPA Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Westwego, 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 has selected the City of Westwego for a
Brownfields Pilot. Westwego is located southwestof
New Orleans, directly across the Mississippi River.
Twenty-four percent of the city's 11,218 residents
live below the poverty level, and unemployment stands
at 8.5 percent. Traditionally, city residents made a
living from fishing in nearby wetlands and from
manufacturing, transportation, and commercial
enterprises. These industries faded out and left
behind brownfields that contribute to environmental
degradation and impede economic growth.
Through community-based efforts, the Pilot is
designed to redevelop two key brownfields, an
abandoned airport and ahistorical district. In addition,
the Pilot would assist in the revitalization of a third
area that is presently undergoing cleanup. All three
of these areas are located near low-income and
minority communities. The Pilot will promote job
creation and eco-tourism within Westwego and the
neighboring Bayou Segnette State Park and Jean
Lafitte National Park.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Date of Announcement:
May 2000
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
three brownfield areas near
minority and low-income
housing to promote economic
developmentand eco-tourism.
Westwego, LA
Contacts:
City of Westwego
(504)347-5745
Regional Brownfields Team
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, brown fields news and events, and
publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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OBJECTIVES
The Pilot will build on the success of the New
Orleans, Gretna, and Southeast Regional Planning
Commission Brownfields Pilot programs to promote
community-based environmental planning and remove
existing barriers to redeveloping the city' s brownfields
properties. The Pilot is concentrated on three areas:
the Westwego Airport property, the Sala Avenue
historic district, and the Fourth Street area. Following
purchase of the airport property, which will be
redeveloped as a wetland recreation area tailored to
the needs of physically handicapped visitors, Pilot
funds will help the city in outreach efforts to publicize
the availability of commercial sites. Within the Sala
Avenue historic district, Pilot funds will promote
community-based redevelopment of two prominent
brownfields. Finally, in the Fourth Street area, the
Pilot will assist the city in outreach efforts to develop
an area reuse plan.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Performing environmental assessments on targeted
properties;
• Performing community outreach including public
meetings; and
• Developing site cleanup and reuse plans.
The cooperative agreementforthis Pilot has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Westwego, LA
May2000 EPA 500-F-00-133
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