United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-00-083
May 2000
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
\>EPA Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Baton Rouge, LA
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other
stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and
sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and
an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded
up to $200,000 over two years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models; job training
pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected
by brownfields to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental
field; and, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds
to make loans for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states,
tribes, municipalities, and communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods
to promote a unified approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.
BACKGROUND
EPA has selected the City of Baton Rouge for a
Brownfields Pilot. Baton Rouge, population 399,105,
is home to an extensive petrochemical industry that
forms the backbone of the city's economy. When oil
and gas markets suffered a downturn in the 1980s,
Baton Rouge was particularly hard hit and, although
the principal petrochemical corporations survived,
many dependent small businesses failed, leaving behind
a large number of inactive commercial properties
throughout the city. These properties are typically
located in impoverished, ethnically diverse areas,
where the minority population is approximately 89
percent and almost 52 percent of the population lives
below the poverty level. Afterbeing vacant for years,
these properties remain undeveloped due to their
perception of being crime ridden, deteriorated, and
contaminated. Today, Baton Rouge is the fastest
growing area in the state and new commercial
properties are atapremium. Unfortunately, investors
interested in developing blighted inner-city sites are
hampered by both real and perceived issues of
contamination and potential liability.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Date of Announcement:
May 2000
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
brownfields propertiesthroughout
Baton Rouge for assessment
and redevelopment.
Baton Rouge, LA
Contacts:
City of Baton Rouge
Planning Director
(225)389-3144
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 6
(214)665-6736
Visit the EPA Region 6 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6sf/bfpages/sfbfhome.htm
For further information, including specific Pilot contacts,
additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and
publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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OBJECTIVES
The Pilot will work in tandem with Baton Rouge's
Comprehensive Land Use and Development Plan,
which was designed to return the city's dilapidated
industrial properties to productive use. The goals of
that program are to protect and enhance the value and
character of existing urban areas, to promote
developmentandredevelopmentwithinthe urbanized
areas, to revitalize deteriorating neighborhoods, and
to create and maintain accessible open space and
greenbelt areas. The Pilot is consistent with the Plan
and will provide the resources to perform site
assessments, develop cleanup plans, encourage public
involvement, and develop tools to facilitate the cleanup
and redevelopment of properties.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Developing an inventory of brownfields sites and
prioritizing them based on value to the neighborhood,
redevelopment viability, and level of contamination;
• Performing Phase I and II assessments on the
priority sites;
• Preparing redevelopment plans for sites based on
the most promising reuse scenarios;
• Establishing a Brownfields Resource Center to
provide comprehensive brownfields information and
support to interested parties; and
• Holding a regularly scheduled discussion forum
open to all brownfields stakeholders and
interested parties to communicate information
and resolve issues.
The cooperative agreementforthis Pilot has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Baton Rouge, LA
May2000 EPA 500-F-00-083
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