&EPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-98-144
May 1998
Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Jackson, MS
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. Since 1995, EPA has funded more than 150 Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of
brownfields solutions. 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 has selected the City of Jackson for a Brownfields
Pilot. Jackson (population 193,000) is located in
south-central Mississippi, and is the state capital. The
Pilot targets the Parish Street Historic District
(population 4,816), a 16-square-mile area located
adjacent to Jackson's central business district. The
target area is within the city's Enterprise Community
Strategic Planning Zone and is anchored by the oldest
intactpre-civil rights African-American neighborhood
in the nation. Ninety-seven percent of the residents
are minorities, and 60.8% live below the poverty line.
Median annual household income in the target area is
$7,551, less than one-third of the median income of
Jackson.
Recent interest in redevelopment of the target area
has been spurred by the area's historic value and the
nearby location of a recently announced $17.5 million
telecommunications conference center. Three major
housing and redevelopment initiatives are underway
in the district; however, none of these address the
district's abandoned commercial and industrial sites.
These old and vacant properties (e.g., abandoned
warehouses with contaminated loading docks, furniture
companies, metal works, dry cleaners, rail yards, and
agin mill) effectively form barriers to investment and
redevelopment across the district. Environmental
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Date of Announcement:
May 1998
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
brownfields in the Parish
Street Historic District, a
16-square-mile area
adjacent to the city's
central businessdistrict.
Jackson, Mississippi
Contacts:
Office of the Mayor
City of Jackson
(601)960-1084
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 4
(404) 562-8923
Visit the EPA Region 4 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region4/wastepgs/
brownfpgs/bf.htm
Forfurtherinformation, including specific Pilot contacts,
additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and
publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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concerns have hindered the progress of redevelopment
efforts and other long-term sustainable redevelopment
projects. Brownfields cleanup and redevelopment
are therefore vital to Jackson's plans for the district.
OBJECTIVES
The city's objective is to use the Pilot as a working
model for the redevelopment of brownfields sites in
historic and culturally unique neighborhoods. The
proj ect strategy includes the following: 1) site selection
andassessment;2)redevelopmentbarrieridentification
and creating measures for change; 3) community
involvement; and 4) coordination of cleanup and
redevelopmentactivities. The Pilot will work with its
cooperative partners, EPA and the state Department
of Environmental Quality. In addition, the Pilot will
leverage resources and assistance from private and
other public partners. All these efforts rely on
developing working partnerships that will also serve
as models for cleanup and redevelopment of other
brownfields throughout the city.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Assembling an inventory of potential brownfields
sites in the district foruse in ageographic information
system (GIS);
• Selecting priority sites based on benefit to the
community, appropriate land use, redevelopment
potential, nature and extent of contamination, type of
ownership, and replicability;
• Conducting Phase I and Phase II site assessments
at priority sites;
• Identifying and removing barriers to cleanup and
redevelopment, including developing working models
to attract investment; and
• Developing interactive and dialogue-building
communication initiatives that both educate and
involve the community.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been
negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet
are subject to change.
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Jackson, Mississippi
May 1998 EPA500-F-98-144
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