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Brownfields 2000 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet
Westwego, 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 Westwego for a
Brownfields Pilot. Westwego is located southwest of
New Orleans, directly across the Mississippi River.
Twenty-four percent of the city's 11,218 residents live
below the poverty level, and unemployment stands at 8.5
percent. Traditionally, city residents made a living from
fishing in nearby wetlands and from manufacturing,
transportation, and commercial enterprises. These
industries faded out and left behind brownfields that
contribute to environmental degradation and impede
economic growth.
Through community-based efforts, the Pilot is designed
to redevelop two key brownfields, an abandoned airport
and a historical district. In addition, the Pilot would
assist in the revitalization of a third area that is presently
undergoing cleanup. All three of these areas are located
near low-income and minority communities. The Pilot
will promote job creation and eco-tourism within
Westwego and the neighboring Bayou Segnette State
Park and Jean Lafitte National Park.
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 05/01/2000
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets three brownfield areas near
minority and low-income housing to promote
economic development and eco-tourism.
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: Westwego,LA
(504) 347-5745
Objectives
The Pilot will build on the success of the New Orleans,
Gretna, and Southeast Regional Planning Commission
Brownfields Pilot programs to promote
community-based environmental planning and remove
existing barriers to redeveloping the city's brownfields
properties. The Pilot is concentrated on three areas: the
Westwego Airport property, the Sala Avenue historic
district, and the Fourth Street area. Following purchase
of the airport property, which will be redeveloped as a
wetland recreation area tailored to the needs of
physically handicapped visitors, Pilot funds will help
the city in outreach efforts to publicize the availability of
commercial sites. Within the Sala Avenue historic
district, Pilot funds will promote community-based
redevelopment of two prominent brownfields. Finally,
in the Fourth Street area, the Pilot will assist the city in
outreach efforts to develop an area reuse plan.
Activities
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 500-F-00-133
May 00

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•	Performing environmental assessments on
targeted properties;
•	Performing community outreach including public
meetings; and
•	Developing site cleanup and reuse plans.
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
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
Solid Waste
EPA 500-F-00-133
May 00

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