United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-01-256
April 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
&EPA EPA Brownfields
Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Anniston, 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, and safely clean up
brownfields to promote their sustainable reuse. Brownfields are abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and
commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental
contamination. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years,
with additional funding provided for greenspace) to test assessment models and facilitate coordinated assessment
and cleanup efforts at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels; and 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 program (each funded up to $1,000,000 over five years) to provide financial assistance 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 Anniston for a
Brownfields Assessment Pilot. Located in central
Alabama, Anniston (population 26,623) was founded
inl872asacompanytownfortheWoodstockIron
Company. Due to its close proximity to rail distribution
lines and rich iron deposits, Anniston attracted other
iron foundries. By 1929,thecity washometo 117
foundries, mostlocatedin West Anniston. Many of
these foundries have closed and been abandoned.
The Pilot targets three city-owned abandoned sites
in West Anniston that are key to re vitalization of the
area—the Chalkline Apparel Mill, the Abandoned
Foundry Site, and the Anchor Metals Site. These
and other properties in the area will be addressed in
accordance with priorities determined by the
community and redevelopment potential.
While some foundries still operate in the area, the
closure and abandonment of foundries and other
industries over the years have had a negative impact
on West Anniston. Once thriving areas have declined
and become distressed as workers moved elsewhere
to find j obs. More than a third of the largely minority
population thatremains in WestAnnistonlivesbelow
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Date of Announcement:
April 2001
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot initially targets
three brownfields sites in West
Anniston for assessmentand
establishes a Brownfields Task
Force Committee to build
consensus within the community
regarding appropriate reuse of the
sites.
Anniston, Alabama
Contacts:
City of Anniston
(256)231-7754
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 4
(404)562-8661
Visit the E PA Region 4 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region4/wastepgs/brownfpgs/bf.htm
Forfurtherinformation,includingspecific 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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the poverty level and fewer than half have a high
school education. Previous revitalization efforts in
the area have been unsuccessful largely because of
perceived contamination at many of the former
industrial sites and the lack of a workable
redevelopment strategy. The targeted sites were
chosen because they are in highly visible locations
close to downtown Anniston and are near areas of
high minority and low income populations.
OBJECTIVES
The Pilot will support the transfer of the targeted
brownfields properties to public or private entities
capable of returning them to economically or socially
productive use compatible with the community.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• EstablishingaBrownfieldsTaskForceCommittee
to conduct outreach activities within the community
regarding appropriate reuse of the sites;
• Conducting assessments of targeted properties
and developing cost analyses and remediation
plans for cleanup; and
• Developing a Geographic Information System
(GIS) with information about the targeted sites.
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 Anniston, Alabama
April 2001 EPA500-F-01-256
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