New Orleans brownfield cleanups create jobs, rehabilitate communities
In her keynote speech at the 2009 National Brownfields Conference, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson used New Orleans, Louisiana as a shining example of environmental remediation and revitalization for the rest of the United States. She said that New Orleans provides hope for the rest of the country.
The EPA has a Brownfields Program that offers grants to help fund contamination assessment, cleanup and job training in contaminated sites so that they can be reused as commercial, residential or even public properties. Cleaning up brownfields not only helps the environmental; it also helps improve public health and economic recovery.
Brownfield cleanups create environmental remediation jobs. Once the sites are cleaned up and put to use again, many of them create permanent jobs.
Several successful New Orleans brownfield projects were highlighted during the conference, including a paint factory that was cleaned up and turned into an apartment building that provides both market rate and affordable housing. A former can factory became a retail center and apartment building. The former Falstaff Brewery building required asbestos abatement, lead abatement and air monitoring before it was turned into a mixed use complex.
For the full story, go to NOLA.com.
