NWLA town receives $50,000 grant to help remediate contaminated property

HOMER, La. ( KTAL/KMSS ) – Main Street Homer has been awarded a grant to help remediate contaminated property in Homer’s downtown historic district. The $50,000 grant was provided by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ).

LDEQ’s Brownfields Planning Activities Program grant will provide technical assistance to Main Street Homer.

A brownfield property has the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, contamination, or pollutant.

There are more than 450,000 brownfield sites across the nation.

In the past decade, the Town of Homer has helped business owners occupy 31% of the town’s previously vacant downtown buildings. LDEQ secretary Aurelia S. Giacometto said this newly awarded grant will help empower Homer to revitalize their historic spaces.

Main Street Homer’s Executive Director, Jimmy Hand, said MSH is grateful to the DEQ, DEQ Secretary Aurelia Giacometto, VRP Coordinator Rebecca Otte, VRP Technical Liaison Jennifer Schatzle, and Project Manager Ashlyn Holmes for providing the opportunity and guidance to receive and implement the grant.

“The grant provided funding to hire the consulting firm Place+Main to provide analytical data to help property owners in Homer remediate, market, and sell 21 vacant historic properties,” said Hand.

He believes the grant will help MSH continue to lower the rate of vacant buildings and create new building space to attract new businesses.

The Brownfields Planning Activities Program helps cities, states, and tribes by giving them technical assistance to be used in assessing, cleaning up, and remediating contaminated properties that are known as “brownfield sites.”

LDEQ allows organizations such as Main Street Homer to apply for grants to revitalize dilapidated sites.

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