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Brownfields 2000 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet
Baton Rouge, 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 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. After being
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 at a premium. 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: 05/01/2000
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets brownfields properties
throughout Baton Rouge for assessment and
redevelopment.
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: Baton Rouge, LA
(225) 389-3144
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
development and redevelopment within the 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.
Activities
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Developing an inventory of brownfields sites and
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 500-F-00-083
May 00

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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 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-00-083
May 00

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