Brownfields Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet

PILOT SNAPSHOT
Uniontown, Alabama	Date of Announcement: September 1998 Amount: $200,000
Profile:Uniontown targets three properties on the east side of the city for cleanup and redevelopment.

BACKGROUND

EPA selected Uniontown for a Brownfields Pilot. Uniontown is a small, rural community of 1,730 in west central Alabama, 30 miles west of Selma. The city's poverty rate is 41 percent; 67 percent of residents have low to moderate incomes; 65 percent of the population is African American; and the unemployment rate is 10 percent, slightly more than twice that of the State of Alabama and the United States. The city's population has declined 18 percent over the past 20 years, leading to lower property values and sociological, economic, and environmental problems throughout the area. Unemployment is a serious problem in Uniontown, caused by the departure of four factories that were the city's major employers. These factory closings resulted in the layoff of the majority of the city's workforce.

The Pilot is focusing on three properties in Uniontown. One of these, the King Pharr vegetable canning factory complex, was one of the area's major employers until it closed in 1974. The factory lay abandoned for several years, until the city purchased the property for redevelopment into an industrial park. For a brief period, the property was used to store "carbon black," a material used in cement and coloring products. Although a non-hazardous substance, the presence of carbon black has left potential purchasers with the perception that the property is contaminated.

OBJECTIVES

The city plans to revitalize the area by restoring and reusing existing resources. A high priority is the redevelopment of the King Pharr factory site, which would create jobs and improve the local tax base. To aid the community plan to redevelop the property into an industrial park, the Pilot will assess the site, assist with cleanup and redevelopment planning, and investigate innovative ways to finance cleanup of this property, as well as other targeted brownfields in the area. The Pilot also plans to involve the community in its activities.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

The Pilot has:

• Produced a project newsletter;
• Identified, inventoried, and targeted three brownfields properties; and
• Begun assessments on the three targeted properties.

The Pilot is:

• Developing innovative methods to finance cleanup of the targeted sites;
• Developing innovative cleanup methods for the targeted sites;
• Preparing cleanup and redevelopment plans for the targeted properties; and
• Conducting public outreach and involving the residents/community in town meetings relating to cleanup and redevelopment of the targeted sites.

LEVERAGING OTHER ACTIVITIES

Experience with the Waukegan Pilot has been a catalyst for related activities, including the following:

• The city shares a $3.5 million grant under EPA's Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund program with the Illinois Coalition, which includes the State of Illinois and the cities of Canton, East Moline, Freeport, Galva, and Lacon.

CONTACTS

Uniontown City Hall
(334) 628-2011

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/waste/bf/

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/