Brownfields 2001 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet
               Monroe, LA
EPA Brownfields Initiative

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states.
communities, and other stakeholders to work together to
prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. A brownfield 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. Additionally, funding support is
provided to state and tribal response programs through a
separate mechanism.

Background

EPA has selected the City of Monroe for a Brownfields
Assessment Pilot. Monroe is located in Ouachita Parish
in the northeast section of the state. The proposed
brownfields target area is located within a federally
designated Empowerment Zone which covers 20 square
miles. Nearly 58 percent of the 20,000 individuals
residing in the target area live at or below the poverty
level, and overall 56 percent of the city are minorities.

The target area is located along the Ouachita River,
which used to be a heavily traveled steamboat route.
With the advent  of railroads and the automobile, the city
grew and ultimately abandoned river travel, forcing
many riverfront  businesses to close. Today, the target
area is littered with abandoned buildings and crumbling
infrastructure, and the surrounding area experiences a
high crime rate,  a high drop-out rate, and chronic
unemployment.
                   Pilot Snapshot

                   Date of Announcement: 04/01/2001
                   Amount: $200,000
                   Profile: The Pilot targets abandoned and underused
                   properties in a federal Empowerment Zone along the
                   Ouachita River. Over half of the residents in the
                   target area live in poverty.

                   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
                   (http ://www .epa.gov/brownfields).

                   EPA Region 6 Brownfields Team
                   (214)665-6780
                   EPA Region 6 Brownfields Web site
                   (http://www.epa.gov/region6/brownfields)

                   Grant Recipient: City of Monroe,LA
                   (318)329-2231
                 Objectives

                 The city intends to advance Monroe's overall
                 development potential through the Pilot by returning
                 abandoned and underused properties to active and
                 productive use throughout the target area. Monroe
                 intends to use an extensive data gathering and
                 information filtering process to identify and inventory
                 brownfield sites. From this brownfields inventory, the
                 city will determine which sites are best suited for
                 redevelopment and then conduct environmental
                 assessments at these sites. The Pilot also will create a
                 community-based brownfields committee that will
                 foster discussion among community members and
                 developers, assess local needs and priorities, and keep
                 the community involved in Pilot activities.

                 Activities

                 Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

                      • Developing a broad community-based planning
  United States
  Environmental
  Protection Agency
  Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA500-F-01-271
        Apr 01

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                                                           process to increase awareness and solicit input
                                                           from the community;
                                                          • Conducting Phase I and Phase II environmental
                                                           site assessments to create redevelopment projects
                                                           for identified brownfields sites; and
                                                          • Entering into cooperative partnerships with the
                                                           public and private sectors to encourage
                                                           residential and commercial redevelopment in
                                                           target areas.

                                                     The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet
                                                     been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this
                                                     fact sheet are subject to change.

                                                     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 negotiated. Therefore, activities
                                                     described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
United States                        Q ., . ,A/__t,.
E-ironmental                       andEmXency                                           EPA 50°-F-°1 ^
Protection Agency                    ResDonse(51oVn                                                  Apr01
Washington, DC 20450                 Kesponse (bl Ob I)

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