&EPA
CMA PROPERTIES
EPA 560-F-10-217
July 2010
West Monroe, Louisiana
Assessment Grant
Former Brownfield Brings Opportunity for Physical Fitness
ADDRESS: 2712-18 N. 7th Street, West Monroe, LA 71291
PROPERTY SIZE: 0.23 acres
FORMER USE: Dry cleaner, cablevision, electronics store,
interior design store, and radio station
CURRENT USE: Fitness Center
EPA GRANT RECIPIENT:
The City of West Monroe,
Louisiana received a $200,000
EPA Brownfields Assessment
grant in 2000.
PROJECT PARTNERS:
Louisiana Department of
Environmental Quality, City
of West Monroe Brownfields
Program
'If. For additional data and geographic
C information for this and other Brownfields
Grants, please visit EPA's Cleanups in
My Community - http://iaspub.epa.gov/
PROJECT BACKGROUND:
A prime commercial location and highway improvements made this partially abandoned parcel with two buildings
attractive for redevelopment; however, one building's former use as a dry cleaner clouded the site's reputation. Various
environmental assessments were conducted at the site since the dry cleaner closed in 1990, and potential ground water
contamination was found in connection with the dry cleaning business. The owner of the property (who had never
operated the dry cleaner) inherited both buildings from his late father in 1999. In July 2001, the property owner agreed
to participate in the City of West Monroe's Brownfields Assessment Pilot. An EPA Brownfields Assessment grant to the
City of West Monroe, along with leveraged funding from the property owner, paid the $55,000 cost of site assessment
in 2003. The assessment indicated that concentrations of tetrachloroethene and other contaminants in subsurface soil
and ground water exceeded Risk Evaluation/Corrective Action Program (RECAP) limits. The proposed remedial design
for the site included implementation of ground water use restrictions and elimination of soil exposure pathways via an
impervious cap. Based on these findings, the property owner entered into a Voluntary Remedial Action Cooperative
Agreement with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality in November 2003, and developed a Remedial
Design and Project Plan to address risks at the site and undertake its cleanup.
KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
• Parking lot barrier and institutional controls limit exposure to contaminants
at the site.
• Remediation demolished abandoned dry cleaner building and provided
additional parking for viable commercial building.
• $6,000 in private funding was leveraged for site assessment and
remediation.
OUTCOME:
Site remediation in progress.
Cleanup was competed on February 8, 2007. Remediation included institutional controls prohibiting the use of ground
water at the site, and the installation of a barrier to prevent exposure to impacted soils. Originally, the .23 acre property
included two buildings, the dry cleaner and one that had a variety of uses over the years. The property owner's
redevelopment plan was simple: demolish the vacant dry cleaning building while leaving the other intact and build a
parking lot to serve as both a cap over the impacted soils and a way to increase parking for the intact viable building. The
City of West Monroe's Brownfields Redevelopment Program provided financial and technical support to both assess and
remediate the site, to improve the appearance and business environment in the area, and to encourage economic growth.
The property was recently sold, and its new owner now operates a successful fitness center in the site's remaining building.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/ or call EPA Region 6 at (214) 665-6780
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