EPA Grant of $445,000 Will Fund Brownfields Programs in Louisiana

EPA Press Release:

EPA Grant of $445,000 Will Fund Brownfields Programs in Louisiana

Media contacts: Jennah Durant or Joe Hubbard, R6Press@epa.gov or 214 665-2200

DALLAS – (Oct. 9, 2019) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced a grant to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) to support land restoration projects through the state’s brownfields program. The $445,000 award will fund several aspects of the program, which works to restore abandoned properties to benefit communities.

“EPA Brownfields grants can transform abandoned properties into community assets, jumpstarting economic development and improving public health and the environment,” said Regional Administrator Ken McQueen. “This funding will help communities in Louisiana leverage the full potential of these properties.”

The funds will support LDEQ’s Brownfields response program, which includes surveying and inventorying sites, oversight and enforcement activities, encouraging meaningful public involvement, approving cleanup plans and verifying cleanups are complete.

Background

A brownfield is a property for which the expansion, redevelopment or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant. There are estimated to be more than 450,000 brownfields in the U.S. Under the EPA Brownfields Program, more than 30,150 properties have been assessed, and more than 86,100 acres of idle land have been made ready for productive use. In addition, communities have been able to use Brownfields grants to leverage 150,120 jobs and more than $28 billion of public and private funding.

The 2019 National Brownfields Training Conference will be held on December 11-13 in Los Angeles, California. Offered every two years, this conference is the largest gathering of stakeholders focused on cleaning up and reusing formerly utilized commercial and industrial properties. EPA cosponsors this event with the International City/County Management Association.

For more on EPA’s Brownfields Program: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields

More on the 2019 Brownfields Conference: https://www.brownfields2019.org

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About EPA Region 6: https://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-6-south-central  

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