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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