Celebrating Success:
Davis Timber
Hattiesburg, Mississippi

&EPA

Superfuncl

Redevelopment

Initiative

The Site before cleanup. (Source: EPA)

"I am fully confident that they did
a good job cleaning up. It's a giant
beautiful field now."

- Brenda Sumrall, Hub City Humane
Society Board President

Aerial view of the capped area prior to placement of
the vegetative cover. (Source: EPA)

For more information, please contact
Melissa Friedland at

friedland.melissa@epa.gov or (703) 603-8864
or Frank Awisato at

awisato.frank@epa.gov or (703) 603-8949.

Two of the mobile classrooms donated by the
Presbyterian Christian School.

(Source: http://toww.wdam.com/story/20036659/hub-
animal-shelter-gets-used-classroomsfrom-school)

The Davis Timber Company Superfund site (the Site), located in
Hattiesburg, Mississippi, formerly housed a facility that specialized
in processing timber and treating wood with chemicals. Chemicals in
wastewater contained in an on-site storage pond from 1972 through
the 1980s managed to reach surface water drainage pathways, leading
to contamination on site and downstream of the Site, including
documented fish kills in Country Club Lake. Due to the level of
dioxin compounds in fish tissue, the Mssissippi Department of
Environmental Quality banned the consumption of fish from Country
Club Lake from 1989 until June 2001.

EPA placed the Site on the National Priorities List (NPL) in 2000 and
selected a remedy for site contamination in 2009. This remedy included
digging up contaminated soil and sediment, containing waste under a
3-acre capped area, controlling surface water flow and controlling for
erosion. EPA completed the remedy in September 2012, two months
ahead of schedule and $400,000 under budget .

Property ownerChuckDavis wanted to seethe Site returned to beneficial
use for the community and had been seeki ng out opportunities to reuse
the property. Pri or to selection of a remedy for the Site, he participated
in a reuse assessment with the community and local government to
determine what types of reuse the Site could potentially support. Based
on the results of the assessment, Mr. Davis donated three acres of the
Site that front the roadway for a community center and local polling
location. The presence of a community center generated further reuse
interest and helped the community better understand what types of
reuse are appropri ate at the Site.

In November 2012, the Hub City Humane Society leased the portion
of the Site not in use by the community center. The Hub City Humane
Society is using this land to shelter cats and dogs, a reuse that is
encouraged by the community. The Presbyterian Christian School
donated eight portable classrooms to the Hub City Humane Society
to use as shelters and classrooms, while Lamar County agreed to
donate $2,000 per month for one year, starting in December 2012, to
help establish the Humane Society's facilities on the Site. In addition
to the current shelter, the Humane Society also plans to build a
rehabilitation center for abused horses, including a fenced paddock
and barn. The Hub City Humane Society ultimately plans to introduce
several educational programs to encourage community involvement
and therapeutic programs to include children with disabilities. Thanks
to the vision of Mr. Davis and the Hub City Humane Society, this
property has been returned to use and is once again a community asset.

July 2014

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