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  Brownfields  2008

  Grant  Fact  Sheet

       Alexandria,  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 this 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 programs through
a separate mechanism.

Community Description

The City of Alexandria was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Located in central
Louisiana, Alexandria (population 49,000) is the parish
seat and largest city  in Rapides Parish. It is a federally
designated Enterprise and Renewal Community.
Almost 55 percent of the city's residents are African-
American, and 27.4  percent of residents live below the
poverty level. As a centrally located hub, Alexandria
was once supported  by the refineries, chemical plants,
and manufacturing facilities that thrived in the area, as
well as their supporting industries, such as railroads,
truck depots, and pipelines. However, urban flight and
relocation of commercial facilities that followed the
out-migration of residents to the suburbs have left
 Assessment Grant
 $200,000 for hazardous substances
 EPA has selected the City of Alexandria for a
 brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous sub-
 stances grant funds will be used to set up a geo-
 graphic information system inventory of sites,
 conduct about 15 Phase I and two Phase II
 environmental site assessments, and support
 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
 214-665-6780
 http://www.epa.gov/region6/brownfields

 Grant Recipient: City of Alexandria, LA
 318-473-1174

 The information presented in this fact sheet comes
 from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the
 accuracy of this information. The cooperative
 agreement for the grant has not yet been negoti-
 ated. Therefore, activities described in this fact
 sheet are subject to change.
behind blighted and abandoned properties. These sites
are predominantly near low-income neighborhoods and
sensitive populations. Assessment of brownfields is
expected to help the city address potential threats to
human health and the environment and motivate
residents to continue community improvements.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                         EPA560-F-08-150
                         April 2008
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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