EPA, City of Shreveport Celebrate $400,000 Cleanup Grant

DALLAS - (June 30, 2015) Officials from the E.P.A. (EPA) and city of Shreveport, Louisiana, gathered today to discuss projects for the city's $400,000 E.P.A. cleanup grants. E.P.A. regional administrator Ron Curry and Shreveport mayor Ollie Tyler outlined projects for the 2 $200,000 grants, awarded under EPA's brownfields program. Brownfields are abandoned or under-used sites that are difficult to redevelop because of potential contamination.

"These grants have helped cities around the country turn abandoned properties from eyesores to community assets," said Regional Administrator Curry. "EPA is proud to help Shreveport invest in the local economy while cleaning up the city's environment."

"These grants will allow us to invest in our local economy something that can yield big dividends in the way of mixed-use housing, residential, retail, and entertainment," said Mayor Ollie Tyler. "It is my vision to provide our citizens with opportunities for an improved quality of life that includes working and playing beside one of Shreveport's natural resources like Cross Bayou."

The city will focus this backing on the Cross Bayou Corridor project, which is the city's latest brownfields redevelopment initiative. The money will help the city assess contamination at this site, as well as at other properties throughout Shreveport. E.P.A. recently awarded $54.3 million in investments grants to 145 other communities across the country. The backing will boost local economies and leverage jobs while protecting public health and the environment.

Since its inception in 1995, EPA's brownfields plan has leveraged in excess of $22 billion from a variety of public and private sources for cleanup and redevelopment activities. This equates to an average of $17.79 leveraged per E.P.A. brownfield dollar expended. These investments have resulted in approximately 105,942 jobs nationwide. EPA's Brownfields Plan empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields sites.


More about the Brownfields Plan in E.P.A. Region 6:
http://www.epa.gov/region6/6sf/brownfields/

Connect with E.P.A. Region 6:
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eparegion6
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/EPAregion6
Activities in E.P.A. Region 6: http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/region6.htm

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