PRO"**" Brownfields 2017 Area-Wide Planning Grant Fact Sheet Port of New Orleans, 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 clean up and revitalize brownfields sites. Under this law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through competitive grant programs for brownfields site assessment, site cleanup, revolving loan funds, area-wide planning, and job training. Additional funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism. Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Program EPA's Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Program assists communities in responding to local brownfields challenges, particularly where multiple brownfield sites are in close proximity, connected by infrastructure, and limit the economic, environmental and social prosperity of their surroundings. This program enhances EPA's core brownfields assistance programs by providing grant funding to communities so they can perform the research needed to develop an area-wide plan and implementation strategies for brownfields assessment, cleanup, and reuse. The resulting area-wide plans provide direction for future brownfields area improvements that are protective of public health and the environment, economically viable, and reflective of the community's vision for the area. Project Description $200,000.00 EPA has selected the Port of New Orleans as a Brownfields Area-Wide Planning Grant recipient. The Port of New Orleans will work with the community and other stakeholders to develop an area-wide plan and implementation strategy for the Industrial Canal Corridor, a 5.5-mile corridor of industrial, residential, and mixed-used properties in the City of New Orleans. Vacant property, deteriorating structures, and environmental conditions are contributing to further decline in the corridor, and there is great need for a comprehensive revitalization strategy to serve as the foundation for growth and economic opportunity. Catalyst sites in the corridor are Sections A and B of the Florida Avenue Turning Basin, and the Morrison Yard site. Effective strategic planning will facilitate the restoration of blighted industrial properties and is expected to spur further redevelopment in adjacent neighborhoods. This will reduce the community's risk of exposure to contaminants, as well as create greenspace and recreational opportunities, and expand access to healthcare providers. These improvements will enhance community mobility, help mitigate flood risks, and create greater employment and additional economic opportunities. Key partners who will work with the Port of New Orleans on this project include the City of New Orleans, Regional Planning Commission, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, and Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality. 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 United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20450 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 560-F-17-001L January 2017 ------- (http://www.epa.gov/brownfields). EPA Region 6 Brownfields Team (214)665-9749 EPA Region 6 Brownfields Web site (https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/epa-regi on-6-south-central-brownfields) Grant Recipient: Port of New Orleans, LA (504) 528-3301 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 560-F-17-001L January 2017 ------- |