EPA: $600K for NOLA brownfields

DALLAS - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded $600,000 in Brownfields assessment coalition grants to the Regional Planning Commission of New Orleans for sites along the Inner Harbor Navigational Canal (IHNC). The award is part of $54.5M EPA is distributing to 145 communities across the country to assess and clean up underutilized properties while protecting public health and the environment. The NOLA commission, and its partners that includes the Port of New Orleans, has a “strong vision for the future of the Inner Harbor area,” said Regional Administrator Anne Idsal. “This funding will enable us to work on key sites identified by the community through the Port’s EPA-funded Brownfields Area-Wide Planning initiative,” said RPC executive Jeff Roseel, “to help convert abandoned and dilapidated properties into community assets and spur further redevelopment in communities where it is greatly needed.” The RPC will get two assessment coalition grants: A community-wide hazardous substances grant of $360,000 to be used to conduct Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments and prepare cleanup plans; and a $240,000 grant for petroleum site assessments and cleanup plans. The Brownfields Program targets communities that are economically disadvantaged and provides funding and assistance to transform contaminated sites into assets that can generate jobs and spur economic growth. (Source: EPA 04/25/18) The IHNC is a 5.5 mile waterway that connects the Mississippi River to Lake Pontchartrain. It separates New Orleans East from the city. The canal passes through the entirety of the city's 9th Ward.