LAFAYETTE PARISH — The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) is proud to celebrate the winners of the 2025 Brownfield Awards held on Nov. 18 at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette LITE Center. Five recently selected EPA Brownfield Grant awardees, eight successful Brownfield projects, and four recently completed Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP) projects throughout Louisiana were recognized at the ceremony.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Brownfields Program provides grants and technical assistance to communities, states, tribes, and other partners to assess, safely clean up, and sustainably redevelop contaminated properties. In 2025, Louisiana secured more than $6.8 million in EPA Brownfield Grants, reinforcing the federal commitment to protecting human health and the environment while advancing economic revitalization.
Louisiana’s 2025 EPA Brownfield Grant recipients are:
· City of Leesville, $500,000 Community-Wide Assessment Grant
· Lafourche Parish, $500,000 Community-Wide Assessment Grant
· DeSoto Parish Police Jury, $1,200,000 Brownfields Coalition Assessment Grant
· Acadiana Planning Commission, $1,200,000 Brownfields Coalition Assessment Grant
· Gulf Coast Housing Partnership Inc., $3,491,144 Brownfields Cleanup Grant
Brownfield sites are vacant or underutilized properties where real or perceived environmental concerns impede redevelopment. Through the Office of Environmental Assessment’s Remediation Division, LDEQ’s Brownfields Program works with federal, state, and local partners to overcome financial and regulatory challenges that may otherwise prevent these sites from returning to productive use. The program guides communities step-by-step — from investigation and cleanup to redevelopment — helping transform liabilities into valuable community assets.
Louisiana Brownfield projects recognized for successful redevelopment include:
· Beanlandia, New Orleans
· The Villas at Spanish Court, Minden
· Old Federal Courthouse LLC, Lafayette
· Tate Etienne & Prevost (TEP) Center, New Orleans
· Former Ruston Post Office, Ruston
· CMMC Helipad Improvement Site, Homer
· SporTran City, Shreveport
· Caddo Common Park, Shreveport
LDEQ’s Voluntary Remediation Program provides a pathway for redeveloping contaminated properties by offering technical, administrative, and legal incentives. Upon successful cleanup, participants receive a Certificate of Completion (COC) verifying that the remediation meets LDEQ’s rigorous VRP requirements.
Sites recently completing the VRP and receiving COCs include:
· Former Johns Manville Plant and Batture, Marrero
· Winn Dixie Phase I, New Orleans
· The Residences at LSU Health, New Orleans
· Burt’s Chevron / 7B Partners II LLC, Ruston
LDEQ congratulates all awardees and project teams for their dedication to revitalizing Louisiana communities and strengthening environmental stewardship statewide.
