Brownfields 2009 Assessment Grant  Fact Sheet
               Jefferson Parish, LA
EPA Brownfields Program

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. In
2002, the Small Business Liability Relief and
Brownfields Revitalization Act was passed to help
states and communities around the country cleanup and
revitalize brownfields sites. 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

Jefferson Parish was selected to receive two brownfields
assessment grants. Jefferson Parish (population
435,000) is bisected by the Mississippi River, with
approximately 60 percent of its residents living on the
east side of the river. It sustained a rapid building and
population boom following World War II and is the
largest parish in the state. The parish has rebounded
from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but there are
significantly more blighted, abandoned, and underused
commercial and industrial properties in the community
due to the impacts of the hurricanes. There is an urgent
need to identify and categorize these sites and to
develop more housing. At least 50 brownfields are
located in the parish, with an average size of three
acres. Almost 26 percent of parish residents are
African-American, and 10 percent are Latino.
Assessment of brownfields is expected to catalyze
private sector involvement and investment in
redevelopment and facilitate implementation of the
parish's new master plan, which includes the use of
greenspace in its brownfields redevelopment program.
                   Assessment Grants

                   $200,000 for hazardous substances
                   $200,000 for petroleum

                   EPA has selected Jefferson Parish for two
                   brownfields assessment grants. Community-wide
                   hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
                   identify new brownfields and conduct five Phase I
                   and three Phase II environmental site assessments.
                   Community-wide petroleum grant funds will be used
                   to identify new brownfields and conduct three Phase
                   I and two Phase II environmental site assessments.
                   Grant funds also will be used to 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
                   (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: Jefferson Parish,LA
                   (504)731-4612

                   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
  Environmental
  Protection Agency
  Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA560-F-09-102
        May 09

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