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  Brownfields  2006

  Grant  Fact Sheet

   Shreveport-Bossier

 Community  Renewal,

       Shreveport,  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

Shreveport-Bossier Community Renewal (SBCR) was
selected to receive a brownfields cleanup grant.
Serving Shreveport and Bossier City (combined
population 256,000), SBCR is a non-profit organiza-
tion working to transform neighborhoods and rebuild
troubled sections of the city. More than half of Shreve-
port residents are African-American, and the city's
poverty rate is 27 percent. In the city's urban core,
where the target property is located, the poverty rate
approaches 75 percent, and the unemployment rate is
at least 30 percent. SBCR plans to clean up the
                                                                 1
 Cleanup Grant
 $200,000 for hazardous substances
 EPA has selected Shreveport-Bossier Community
 Renewal for a brownfields cleanup grant. Hazard-
 ous substances grant funds will be used to clean
 up the Petroleum Tower building at 425 Edwards
 Street in downtown Shreveport. Funds also will
 be used to conduct community outreach activi-
 ties.
 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: Shreveport-Bossier Community
 Renewal, LA
 318-425-3222

 The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
 yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
 in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Petroleum Tower, a 1960s office building, and rede-
velop it as the first Leadership in Energy and Environ-
mental Design (LEED)-certified building in Louisiana.
Cleanup of the site is expected to enhance the declining
downtown area. After renovation, the Petroleum Tower
will be used as the National Training Center for
Community Renewal (NTCCR). The center will
provide training for people from around the country in
proven community renewal methods. SBCR anticipates
employing 50 to 75 people in the NTCCR and expects
monthly seminars to attract many visitors to the city.
This redevelopment is expected to spur additional
revitalization and bring a variety of employment
opportunities to the downtown area, including jobs at
                                               Solid Waste and
                                               Emergency Response
                                               (5105T)
                        EPA560-F-06-145
                        May 2006
                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

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the new convention center, riverfront establishments.
and casinos.

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