Brownfields 2007 Assessment Grant  Fact Sheet
               Cordova, AL
EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states.
communities, and other stakeholders to work together to
prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. A brownfield site is real property, the
expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be
complicated by the presence or potential presence of a
hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. On
January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into
law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields
Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields Law, EPA
provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through
four competitive grant programs: assessment grants,
revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job
training grants. Additionally, funding support is provided
to state and tribal response programs through a separate
mechanism.

Community Description

The City of Cordova was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Located in Walker County,
Cordova (population 2,423) is part of the Birmingham
Metropolitan Statistical Area. In the 1800s, Walker
County was synonymous with coal. In 1891, the county
had 400 coke ovens, six coal mines, and two mills in
operation. With the decline in manufacturing and
production, the mines and mills closed. Cordova has lost
25 percent of its population since 1960 because of its
historical dependence on mills and mines. In 2000, 25.6
percent of families in Cordova lived below the  poverty
level. About 70 percent of the downtown shops are
vacant, some deteriorated to the point of structural failure.
Several abandoned service stations are located within a
half-mile radius of the city center. Assessment of former
service stations will contribute to efforts to improve the
water quality of the Mulberry Fork River, increase jobs
and tax revenues, and rejuvenate the community.
                     Assessment Grant

                     $200,000 for petroleum

                     EPA has selected the City of Cordova for a
                     brownfields assessment grant. Petroleum grant
                     funds will be used to inventory abandoned service
                     stations, implement a community health study,
                     and perform Phase I and II environmental site
                     assessments. Grant funds also will be used to
                     support community outreach activities.
                     Contacts

                     For further information, including specific grant
                     contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
                     news and events, and publications and links, visit
                     the EPA Brownfields Web site
                     (http://www.epa.gov/brownfields).

                     EPA Region 4 Brownfields Team
                     (404) 562-8792
                     EPA Region 4 Brownfields Web site
                     (http://www.epa.gov/region4/was te/bf)

                     Grant Recipient: City of Cordova,AL
                     (205) 483-9266

                     The information presented in this fact sheet comes
                     from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the
                     accuracy of this information. The cooperative
                     agreement for the grant has not yet been
                     negotiated. Therefore, activities described in this
                     fact sheet are subject to change.
  United States
  Environmental
  Protection Agency
  Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 560-F-07-038
      May 2007

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