United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-00-084
May 2000
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
\>EPA Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Camden, AR
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
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. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded
up to $200,000 over two years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models; job training
pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected
by brownfields to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental
field; and, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds
to make loans for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs 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 Camden for a Brownfields
Pilot. EPA also awarded Camden additional funding
for assessments at Brownfields properties to be used
forgreenspace purposes. Camden (population 14,701)
is located in Ouachita County, along the Ouachita
River. Due to its riverfront location, the city was once
a major shipping terminal for cotton, coal, and oil. In
more recent years, however, both the city and the
county have experienced economic hardships and j ob
losses; including the loss of more than 6,000 military
defense-related jobs and the loss of 200 jobs at a
nearby paper company. Currently, the unemployment
rate for Ouachita County is 79 percent. Within the
Pilot area, there is an overall poverty rate of 26
percent and a median household income of $16,846.
The Pilot area is located in the heart of the city, near
the Port of Camden. It encompasses railroad property,
several abandoned service industries-which are
suspected to contain contamination-and dilapidated
housing. Once aproductive industrial and commercial
center, the area is now an abandoned eyesore whose
northern edge touches the riverfront.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Camden, AR
Date of Announcement:
May 2000
Amount: $200,000
Greenspace: $50,000
Profile: The Pilot targets a
downtown area of Camden that
encompasses railroad property,
dilapidated housing, and
abandonedcommercial buildings
for site assessment and
redevelopment planning.
Contacts:
City of Camden
(870)836-6436
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 6
(214)665-6736
Visit the EPA Region 6 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6sf/bfpages/sfbfhome.htm
Forfurther information, 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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OBJECTIVES
The Pilot will work with the City of Camden to
redevelop the Pilot area, which includes a small
riverfront portion, for industrial and recreational
purposes. Redevelopment of the Pilot area along
the railroad and linking it with the expansion of the
Port of Camden could attract interested companies,
provide access to transportation routes, and
increase the number of jobs and the amount of
revenue generated in the city. Environmental
assessment and redevelopment planning of
brownfields sites in the Pilot area are critical first
steps in the revitalization process.
The Pilot will use the greenspace funding to preserve
open spaces and facilitate development of ariverwalk
along the banks of the Ouachita River. Elements of
the riverwalk would include a boardwalk, kiosks,
overlooks, rest areas, and environmental exhibits.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Conducting Phase I and II environmental
assessments and assessing redevelopment costs of
sites in the Pilot area;
• Engaging in site cleanup and redevelopmentplanning
so the area may be reused in a productive,
environmentally sound manner;
• Ensuring community awareness and involvement;
• Identifying agencies and resources for leveraging
additional funding for cleanup and redevelopment
efforts; and
• Assessing brownfields and preparing cleanup plans
for properties designated for the riverwalk.
The cooperative agreementforthis Pilot has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subjectto change.
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Camden, AR
May2000 EPA 500-F-00-084
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