The EPA National Brownfields Training Conference is coming on August 8 to 11, 2023 in Detroit, MI. This will be the 20th National Brownfields Conference.
The conference will include 180 panels, town halls, roundtables, and topic talks where attendees can learn directly from experts in the field and interact with federal, state, and local decision-makers. In these sessions, speakers will discuss new practices, share success stories, and mulate new ideas.
Previous conferences have attracted as many as 2,000 attendees interested in community revitalization.
Individuals who may be interested:
Local, state, tribal, and federal government leaders
Federal and state contractors
Real estate developers and investors
Financial and insurance providers and risk management practitioners
Economic development officials and community development organizations
Construction and building firms
Environmental and civil engineers, planners and public works officials
Information technology professionals
Academic institutions & students
Attorneys
To register or find more information on the conference, visit the EPA 2023 Brownfields Conference website.
Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) selected five Louisiana communities to receive grants totaling more than $4.8 million in competitive EPA Brownfields funding through the 2023 Multipurpose, Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup (MARC) Grant programs.
A total of 262 communities were chosen for Brownfields Grants nationwide. “This critical wave of investments is the largest in Brownfields history and will accelerate our work to protect the people and the planet by transforming what was once blight into might,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan.
City of Alexandria
The City of Alexandria was selected for a $500,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant. Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct 20 Phase I and ten Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to prepare an inventory of brownfield sites, develop up to seven cleanup and reuse plans, hold seven community meetings, update a Community Involvement Plan, and conduct other community outreach activities. The target area for this grant is the City of Alexandria with a focus on the BLA District, an area around Bolton Avenue, Lee Street, and Arial Drive. Priority sites include a former dry cleaner that has been vacant since 2001 and a vacant four-story former commercial building.
Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana (Shreveport)
EPA selected the Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana for a $1,000,000 Brownfields Cleanup Grant. Grant funds will be used to clean up the BRF Bell Street property at Bell Street in the City of Shreveport. The 1-acre cleanup site was used as an oilfield pipe laydown yard for the storage of surplus oilfield drilling and production equipment from 1940 to 1970 and is contaminated with naturally occurring radioactive material. The property has since been vacant and undeveloped. Grant funds also will be used to develop a Community Involvement Plan and conduct other community engagement activities.
City of Monroe
EPA chose the City of Monroe for a $872,900 Brownfields Cleanup Grant. Grant funds will be used to clean up the Ouachita Candy Company at 211-305 Walnut Street. Historically, various portions of the property operated in a variety of functions, including a Masonic Temple, a woodworking facility, a residential site, a candy company, a soft drink bottling company, an automotive repair facility with a filling station that included vehicle washing and greasing operations, a vehicle maintenance area, a storage warehouse, and personal storage. Currently, the property is vacant and unused. The site is contaminated with hazardous substances, including solvents, and petroleum. Grant funds also will be used to prepare cleanup plans and conduct community engagement activities.
City of New Orleans
The largest Louisiana Brownfields grant EPA announced was $2,000,000 to the City of New Orleans for a Brownfields Cleanup Grant. Grant funds will be used to clean up the Naval Support Activity East Bank Complex at 4400 Dauphine Street. The cleanup site was formerly a military logistical center, a shelter and training center during the Great Depression, a former Naval stronghold, and a recruitment center. The structures are currently vacant and contaminated with metals, inorganic contaminants, and other hazardous substances.
City of Tallulah
EPA selected the City of Tallulah for a $500,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant. Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct 17 Phase I and eight Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to inventory sites, develop five cleanup plans, and support community engagement activities. The target area for this grant is Downtown Tallulah. Priority sites include former fueling stations, automobile service facilities, and dry cleaners.
EPA selected these communities to receive funding in order to address and support the reuse of brownfield sites. EPA anticipates making the awards once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied. The Brownfields Grant funding will help communities remove longstanding barriers to reuse and spur new redevelopment to transform communities into sustainable and environmentally just places. These Brownfields Grants not only support economic growth and job creation, but they also empower communities to address the environmental, public health, and social issues associated with contaminated land.
More Information
The RPC Brownfield Program announced that it began a Phase I assessment at the former Kaiser Aluminum Site in Chalmette, Louisiana, in St. Bernard Parish. It is the first assessment conducted under its 2022 EPA Brownfields Community-wide assessment grant, which was awarded at $500,000.
The Phase I assessment will identify potential environmental concerns on the property, gathered through interviews, historic records, and other property research. The Phase I report will be completed in about 4 weeks, and will recommend next steps so that the site can be reused for future redevelopment.
The RPC Brownfield program is working with several other property owners interested in environmental site assessments using its grant funding. The RPC plans to conduct 15 Phase I and four Phase II environmental site assessments, as well as other brownfields activities, under its current grant funding.
Each year, EPA awards funding for Brownfields assessment activities under its Brownfields Program. The current RPC Brownfield Program grant funding will be used for assessment activities from 2022 - 2025.
If you are a developer, property owner, of financial interest with a site located in the Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany, or Tangipahoa Parishes, and would like a grant-funded Phase I or Phase II environmental assessment, or simply have questions about brownfield redevelopment, contact RPC Brownfield Coordinator Adam Tatar.
*Reposted in part from the RPC Brownfields Spring 2023 Newsletter
