Solving Environmental Problems Through Collaboration
A Case Study
For EPA personnel and partners who wish to implement collaborative problem solving projects effectively.
Atlantic Steel Redevelopment
Attention to transportation flow coupled with innovative
approaches to environmental improvement make for a
successful project in Atlanta
Background
Jacoby Development Corporation
proposed mixed use redevelopment (i.e.
residential, retail, office and hospitality) of
a 138-acre site currently owned by Atlantic
Steel near Atlanta's central business
district. Jacoby worked intensively with
representatives of EPA, the State of
Georgia, local authorities and public
stakeholders to develop a site-specific
Project XL Agreement to enable this
redevelopment to proceed.
Prior to redevelopment, the site had
suffered poor accessibility. Project plans
for a multi-modal (cars, pedestrians,
bicycles, transit linkage) bridge across I-
75/85 at 17th Street as well as ramps to
connect the site to the nearby MARTA (the
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit
Authority) Arts Center transit station would
serve as a vital linkage between the
Atlantic Steel redevelopment and down-
town. Completion of the redevelopment
proposed by Jacoby was predicated upon
improving multi-modal access to the
area. In addition, construction of the 17th
Street Bridge was one of the City of
Atlanta's zoning requirements for the
project. Jacoby participated in Project XL
because without the regulatory flexibility it
offered neither the 17th Street Bridge nor
the associated I-75/85 access ramps
could have proceeded.
Why the Atlantic Steel
Project Succeeded
Innovative environmental protection
methods coupled with stakeholder
involvement led to success for the Atlantic
Steel project. Because Atlanta had not
met Clean Air Act standards between
1998 and 2002, standard interpretation of
EPA regulations would have prohibited
constructing the proposed bridge (a form
of highway construction). However,
Atlantic Steel's prime downtown location
as well as the proposed site design
suggested lower car travel and reduced
air quality impacts. The possibility that
Atlantic Steel, once redeveloped, repre-
sented a type of environmental benefit
known as a transportation control mea-
sure (TCM) prompted the Agency to
conduct research. In the end, an ob-
stacle that would have prevented reuse of
the site was removed after EPA's Smart
Growth Program (in the Office of Policy,
Economics and Innovation) conducted
analyses showing that the smart growth
aspects of the redevelopment would help
reduce air pollution, among other
environmental benefits.
The Atlantic Steel Redevelopment Team
considered stakeholder involvement
essential, so it has been an important part
of the concept and rezoning consider-
ations since the project began in early
1997. Stakeholders included the City of
Atlanta Planning Department, Georgia
Department of Transportation, Atlanta
Regional Commission, nine neighbor-
Atlantic Station"
Life Happens Here.
hood organizations and several other
groups such as the Midtown Alliance and
Georgia Tech University. These groups
collaborated on the concept, design, and
conditions put in place in the rezoning
document. Multiple public meetings,
discussion groups, individual contacts,
and a full public notice and review
process relative to this project were held
during the rezoning of this property—all
vital to the project.
What made the Atlantic
Steel Project Unique?
Projects that are expected to provide the
benefit of a TCM can proceed even
during a conformity lapse if they are in a
federally approved State Implementation
Plan. Atlantic Steel represented the first
project of its size and complexity that EPA
had ever evaluated as a TCM. The
analysis, coupled with EPA's use of
regulatory flexibility under an innovative
program called Project XL (www.epa.gov/
Atlantic Station is a model to the rest of the
nation of how partnerships can deliver
enormous environmental and economic
successes.
- EPAAdministrator Steve Johnson
-------
projectxl/), allowed the development to
proceed as a TCM.
Project XL tested innovative ways of
achieving better and more cost-effective
public health and environmental protec-
tion. Project XL encouraged local public
sector and community organizations to
test new ideas that demonstrate commu-
nity-designed and directed strategies for
achieving greater environmental quality
consistent with community economic
goals.
Atlantic Steel also tested whether smart
growth strategies can be applied to the
Brownfield's program (more information
on EPA's Brownfields program at http://
www.epa.gov/swerosps/bf/index.html )
and transportation projects, so that air
quality and other environmental perfor-
mance could be improved, as part of an
overall community revitalization plan.
Lessons Learned
Sometimes a "business-as-usual"
approach can act as a barrier to environ-
mental improvements by inhibiting
innovative approaches. Under the Atlantic
Steel project, EPA considered the entire
development to be a transportation
control measure (TCM). At the time, the
Clean Air Act identified several types of
projects that can be TCMs, but the statute
did not limit TCMs to those measures.
For Atlantic Steel, EPA viewed the site's
location, proposed transit linkages and
other transportation characteristics
together as a TCM. EPA believed the
combination of these elements could
have a positive effect on reducing
emissions from single occupancy
vehicles by encouraging the use of
alternative modes of transportation.
A second aspect of this project's flexibility
is testing an innovative approach to
measuring the air quality benefits of the
Atlantic Steel redevelopment. To analyze
the regional transportation and air
emissions impacts of the Atlantic Steel
site, EPA used modeling analysis to
compare the site redevelopment's
potential air quality impact to three other
likely locations for similar-scale develop-
ment in the Atlanta region. Using this type
of comparison to support a TCM consid-
eration was unique to this project. As
more cities struggle with urban develop-
ment, transportation, and air quality
problems similar to Atlanta's, many
aspects of the project will have the
potential to be transferred.
Results
The environmental and economic
benefits of the project are numerous:
• Clean-up of an old industrial prop-
erty; separation of sanitary and
storm sewer systems.
• Reduction of auto emissions.
• Creation of jobs and economic
development where infrastructure
already exists.
In July 2004, an independent panel of
state, regional and federal government
leaders, along with environmental,
business and academic professionals,
named the project winner of the Phoenix
Award in EPA's Region 4. In September
2004, the project received the Grand
Prize Phoenix Award for excellence in
Brownfield redevelopment.
Atlantic Station is expected to generate
approximately 20,000 new jobs with a
predicted gain of more than $619 million
in total salaries. Additionally, several
million dollars in tax revenues will be
generated for the City and County. Prior to
the redevelopment, property taxes
contributed $300,000 a year to the City's
coffers. Once fully constructed, Atlantic
Station will contribute $30 million a year
in property taxes. Additionally, the numer-
ous retailers on site will contribute $10 to
$20 million a year in Special Interest
Local Option Sales Taxes, which help
fund local education and transportation
initiatives.
Keys to Collaboration
Exemplified
Agency experience and academic
research suggest there are seven keys to
successful collaborative problem-solving
(http://www.epa.gov/epainnov/collabora-
tion/seven_keys.htm). Six keys for collabo-
rative problem solving are demonstrated
through Atlantic Steel.
For Atlanta, the shared problem was the
city's conformity lapse and standard
interpretation of EPA's regulations. Both
were obstacles for implementing a
project that offered multiple environmen-
tal benefits.
EPA was the convener of stature, and it
enlisted Atlantic Steel as a pilot for an
initiative known as Project XL.
Jacoby Development Corporation was the
committed leader, and they worked
intensively to develop a site specific
Project XL Agreement, the formal
charter.
Atlantic Steel involved the following
representatives of substance: Jacoby
Development Corporation; EPA; the State
of Georgia; local authorities; and public
stakeholders.
Finally, the clearly-defined purpose of
this effort was redevelopment of a 138
acre Brownfield site near Atlanta's central
business district.
For More Information
Development, Community, and
Environment Division
(202) 566-2878
http://www.epa.gov/innovation/collabora-
tion
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Policy,
Economics and Innovation
(1807T)
June 2006
EPA-231-F-06-002
------- |