United States
                       Environmental
                       Protection Agency
                       Washington, D.C. 20460
 Solid Waste
 and Emergency
 Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-97-042
May 1997

                       Regional  Brownfields
                       Assessment  Pilot
                                                              Atlanta,  GA
  Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)
                Quick Reference Fact Sheet
EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower States,  communities, and other
stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and
sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and
an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. Between 1995 and 1996, EPA funded 76 National and Regional Brownfields
Assessment Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of brownfields
solutions. EPAis funding morethan 27 Pilots in 1997. The Pilots are intended to provide EPA, States, Tribes, municipalities,
and communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods to promote a unified
approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.
BACKGROUND

EPA Region 4 has selected the City of Atlanta for a
Regional Brownfields Pilot.  Industrial and residen-
tial areas are mixed throughout Atlanta's urban core,
with large industries surrounded by small, single-
family homes and public housing projects. The City
has established their own Empowerment Zone of 30
neighborhoods (population 50,000) and the Atlanta
Empowerment Zone Corporation to implement their
plans. Atlanta has identified 10 verified and 3 6 poten-
tial brownfields in the Empowerment Zone that may
be contaminated with a number of toxic pollutants.
Several areas contain vacant and abandoned ware-
houses that have become dumping grounds for waste
and toxic chemicals. Ninety percent of the population
is African-American, and most are below the poverty
line. One  study has  shown  that 83 percent of the
City's contaminated sites are located in African-
American neighborhoods.

OBJECTIVES

Atlanta plans to: 1) inventory brownfields within the
Empowerment Zone; 2) develop financing tools to
encourage industry involvement in brownfields rede-
velopment; 3) provide environmental justice plan-
ning to develop  sustainable communities; and 4)
build a cohesive brownfields redevelopment strategy
and project management capacity.
 PILOT SNAPSHOT
   Atlanta, Georgia
  Date of Award:
  September 1996

  Amount: $100,000

  Site Profile: The Pilot
  targets 10 verified and 36
  potential brownfields with
  varied levels of
  contamination,
  interspersed throughout
  the City's Empowerment
  Zone. Environmental
  audits will be conducted at
  up to three of these sites.
Contacts:

Dan Cohen
Atlanta Department of
Planning and Development
(404) 330-6899
  Barbara Dick
  U.S. EPA-Region 4
  (404) 562-8923
  dick.barbara@
  epamail.epa.gov
       Visit the EPA Brownfields Website at:
       http://www.epa.gov/brownfields

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ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

The Pilot has:

• Begun environmental assessments, and will under-
 take a minimum of three Level I and one Level II
 environmental audits.

The Pilot is:

• Building abrownfields inventory database;

• Producing a site identification brochure that will be
 the beginning of an aggressive public communica-
 tions strategy and demonstration project;

• Developing remediation processes and costanalyses;

• Creating a central oversight process for reviewing
 technical elements of site remediation, including
 legal and insurance liability risks; and

• Involving community partners including Clark At-
 lanta University and neighborhood planning boards
 in organizing workshops, community meetings, and
 outreach efforts.

LEVERAGING OTHER ACTIVITIES

Experience with the Atlanta Pilot has been a catalyst
for related activities including the following.

• The Metro Area Chamber of Commerce formed a
 Brownfields Issue Work Group. The Work Group' s
 technical subcommittees have provided support to
 the City's brownfields efforts.

• The Brownfields Issue Work Group has also pro-
 vided the City with free legal services and financial
 assistance relating to liability, insurance, and lend-
 ing concerns.
 Regional Brownfields Assessment Pilot                                                  Atlanta, Georgia
 May 1997                                                                      EPA 500-F-97-042

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