Southern Louisiana Portfields Initiative

1. Southern Louisiana Portfields Initiative May 23-24, 2006 New Orleans

2. What is Portfields? • A NOAA led interagency effort addressing port revitalization; • Emphasis on development of environmentally-sound port facilities, community revitalization and environmental restoration; • Originated from the 2002 Brownfields Federal Partnership Action Agenda; • Three pilots designated in 2003; and • Expanded beyond brownfields based on pilot experiences.

3. 95 percent of U.S. foreign trade through ports; Waterborne commerce contributes $742 billion to GDP, and employs 13 million people; Volume at U.S. ports expected to double by 2020; and Ports & Commerce: • Port revitalization can provide economic, environmental, social, and homeland security benefits for port communities.

4. Why Portfields? • No single federal port revitalization program • Numerous federal partners • Value of increasing coordination to facilitate local port revitalization

5. Portfields Goals • Improve federal, state, and local coordination on local port projects • Focus delivery of financial and technical assistance • Restore productive, environmentally-sound uses of port and harbor areas, providing environmental, economic, social, and homeland security benefits to the port community • Identify and apply effective tools and techniques for port revitalization and transfer best practices to other port communities

6. PORT GRAND ISLE New Opportunity for Portfields Partnership • Portfields Peer Exchange dialogue started with RPC & New Orleans in early 2005. • Unprecedented disasters in mid 2005. • Although no Portfields appropriation, partners saw opportunity to bring Portfields model to Louisiana.

7. Southern LA Portfields Initiative • Provide forum for ports to hear directly from Pilot Peers (lessons learned); • Assist ports in identifying existing funding/TA opportunities with federal, state and local partners; and • Develop working relationships between ports and federal, state and local partners to facilitate port revitalization.

8. Federal Partners • Department of Commerce • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration • Economic Development Administration • Environmental Protection Agency • US Army Corps of Engineers • Department of Housing and Urban Development • Department of the Interior • Department of Transportation • Maritime Administration • Federal Emergency Management Agency • US Coast Guard • US Department of Agriculture

9. State Partners • Ports Association of LA (PAL) • LA Dept. of Environmental Quality • LA Dept. of Natural Resources • LA Dept of Transportation & Development • LA Dept of Economic Development • LA Sea Grant (LSU)

10. Local and Regional Partners • Regional Planning Commission (RPC) • South Central Planning and Development Commission (SCPDC) • Capital Region Planning and Development Commission (CRPDC) • City of New Orleans • Jefferson Parish Dept. of Environmental Affairs

11. Portfields Liaison • Role of liaisons is key • Liaisons: • Regional Planning Commission • City of New Orleans • City of Baton Rouge • LSU Sea Grant

12. Next steps • Ports work with liaisons to produce project summaries for port-identified priority projects; • Liaisons submit project summaries to RPC for input from partners; • Partners determine which projects are most feasible through Portfields; and • Liaisons bring together key partners to focus on project implementation.

13. www.brownfields.noaa.gov