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  Brownfields  2006

  Grant Fact  Sheet

    Baton  Rouge and

  Parish of East Baton

           Rouge,  LA


EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders 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, President George W. Bush 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. Addi-
tionally, funding  support is provided to state and tribal
response programs through a separate mechanism.
Community Description
The City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton
Rouge (City-Parish) was selected to receive a brown-
fields assessment grant. The City-Parish (population
412,852) is a consolidated government that includes
incorporated and unincorporated areas of Baton
Rouge. The focus of this project is the City of Baton
Rouge, especially the Old South Baton Rouge area. As
development moved to outlying areas, the old neigh-
borhoods within the Baton Rouge city limits experi-
enced significant economic decline and an increase of
abandoned commercial and industrial sites. These
  Assessment  Grant
  $200,000 for hazardous substances
  EPA has selected the City of Baton Rouge and
  Parish of East Baton Rouge for a brownfields
  assessment grant. Hazardous substances grant
  funds will be used to conduct Phase I and II
  environmental site assessments throughout the
  Parish of East Baton Rouge, with a focus on the
  City of Baton Rouge. Grant funds also will be
  used for community outreach activities.
  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
  214-665-2241
  http://www.epa.gov/region6/brownfields
  Grant Recipient: City of Baton Rouge and Parish
  of East Baton Rouge, LA
  225-389-3144
  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
neighborhoods have the greatest concentration of
minorities, and the highest poverty and unemployment
levels in the City-Parish. In the Old South Baton Rouge
area, 93 percent of residents are African-American, and
23.5 percent are unemployed. Almost half of the area's
residents live below the poverty level. The City-Parish
estimates that 400 brownfields sites are located in the
area. In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,
the population of the City-Parish has significantly
increased with the influx of evacuees from the New
Orleans area. This sudden population growth has placed
a large demand on the local real estate market. Brown-
fields assessment and eventual cleanup is expected to
                                                Solid Waste and
                                                Emergency Response
                                                (5105T)
                         EPA560-F-06-142
                         May 2006
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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help remove obstacles to redevelopment, including
environmental concerns, and encourage investment in
the urban core of Baton Rouge, particularly in the Old
South Baton Rouge area. Revitalization is expected to
restore healthy, liveable communities that will boost
neighborhood pride for residents of the City of Baton
Rouge.

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