United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-00-002
April 2000
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
<&EPA BrownfieldsSupplemental
Assistance
Birmingham, AL
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 awarded the City of Birmingham supplemental
assistance for its Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot. Birmingham will expand its
current brownfields project area to incorporate the
Kingston Community, the Birmingham Enterprise
Community, and the Ensely Community. The Kingston
Community is home to the former Stockham Valve
Company. This area has great potential for
redevelopment due to its rail access and close proximity
to the freeway, airport, and downtown. However, it
has remained vacant due to the perception of
environmental contamination of the area.
Birmingham's federally designated Enterprise
Community is home to one of Birmingham's most
disadvantaged communities. The project plans to
assist with the current socioeconomic problems of
this community by redeveloping abandoned industrial
buildings and revitalizing the community. The Ensley
Community includes one of the city's most notorious
brownfields redevelopment sites, the former USX
property. Although this 448-acre property is suspected
of contamination, there is a great deal of
redevelopment interest in this property due to its size
and central location.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Birmingham, Alabama
Date of Announcement:
March 2000
Amount: $150,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
the Birmingham Enterprise
Community, Kingston
Neighborhood, and the
Ensley Community for
environmental and economic
revitalization.
Contacts:
Mayor's Office/Community
Enterprises Division
City of Birmingham
(205)254-2870
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 4
(404)562-8661
Visit the EPA Region 4 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region4/wastepgs/brownfpgs/bf.htm
For further 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 AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES
The City of Birmingham' s goal is to return abandoned
industrial lands and buildings in the target areas to
productive, environmentally conscious uses. The
Pilot will use the supplemental assistance to continue
to increase redevelopment activities of these
communities, provide additional employment
opportunities for community residents, identify new
land for business development, and increase tax
revenues for the City of Birmingham and the North
Birmingham Community.
The Community Enterprises Division of the Mayor's
office (CED) will have general supervision of the
Pilot. The Birmingham Environmental Clearinghouse
(BEC) will be responsible for coordinating daily
activities. Residents and members of the business
and environmental professional communities will assist
in achieving the Pilot's objectives as well.
To accomplish these objectives, the Pilot plans to:
• Develop an inventory of sites in the target areas;
• Perform Phase I assessment of the selected sites;
• Evaluate and perform ASTM Phase II assessment
of selected sites;
• Develop a cleanup and redevelopment plan for each
site; and
• Leverage resources from stakeholders already
interested in redeveloping these areas.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this factsheetare subjectto change.
Brownfields Supplemental Assistance Birmingham, Alabama
March 2000 EPA 500-F-00-002
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