/ D \ Brownfields 2000 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet

\ i Camden, AR

Pilot Snapshot

Date of Announcement: 05/01/2000
Amount: $200,000

$50,000 for Greenspace
Profile: The Pilot targets a downtown area of
Camden that encompasses railroad property,
dilapidated housing, and abandoned commercial
buildings for site assessment and redevelopment
planning.

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 6 Brownfields Team
(214) 665-6780

EPA Region 6 Brownfields Web site
(http ://www .epa.gov/region6/brownfields)

Grant Recipient: City of Camden,AR
(870)836-6436

EPA Brownfields Initiative

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.

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 for
greenspace 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 job 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 a
productive industrial and commercial center, the area is
now an abandoned eyesore whose northern edge touches
the riverfront.

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 a riverwalk
along the banks of the Ouachita River. Elements of the
riverwalk would include a boardwalk, kiosks,
overlooks, rest areas, and environmental exhibits.

United States	c

Environmental	anri Fmpflpn™	EPA 500-F-00-084

nil- a	ancl Emergency	.. __

Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	MaV00

Washington, DC 20450	^ v '

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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 redevelopment
planning 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 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

and Emergency
Response (5105T)

Solid Waste

EPA 500-F-00-084
May 00

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