Meanwhile, Back Along The BeltLine . . .

At a ceremony today in Atlanta, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa P. Jackson announced a $1 million grant to the City of Atlanta to clean up brownfield sites along the Atlanta BeltLine and other redevelopment corridors.

Having nothing more significant to do with my day today, I went to the photo op for the announcement, held at the site of the to-be-developed Old Fourth Ward Park, which is now just several empty parking lots and demolished warehouse sites near the old Sears Building south of Midtown. It was a rather short event, with a few remarks by the Mayor and then a short speech by Ms. Jackson, which was merciful since we were all standing out under the Georgia sun and the morning temperatures, already in the mid 80s, were rising rapidly.

“Rehabilitating these sites will protect human health and the environment and create new economic possibilities for these communities,” Ms. Jackson said. “EPA is providing solutions in these challenging economic times, and making clear that – in Atlanta or anywhere else in the country – we don’t have to choose between a green economy and a green environment.”

“Brownfields initiatives demonstrate how environmental protection and economic development work hand-in-hand,” said Stan Meiburg, Acting EPA Regional Administrator in Atlanta. “This funding will help local efforts in transforming underutilized properties into community assets while providing a boost for the economy through the creation of jobs.”

The speakers addressed the small crowd in front of an artist's concept of what the completed Old Fourth Ward Park will look like. Since my camera is still broken, I snapped a few pics using my cell phone, which resulted in a jarring, glitch-in-the-matrix type disconformity where the real backdrop met with the faux background.

Since grant recipients are elected through a national competition and the city was selected to receive $1 million, the ceremony also included one of those cheesy exchanges of a gigantic, Publisher's Clearinghouse-type check. $550,000 of the grant is allocated for sites contaminated by hazardous substances and the remaining $450,000 for sites contaminated with petroleum.

I understand there are an estimated 950 brownfield properties within Atlanta. The city is focusing on sites along the BeltLine and other redevelopment corridors. The BeltLine is a 22-mile transit greenway that circles downtown and midtown Atlanta. There are about 140 brownfields along the BeltLine and another 40 in the other targeted corridors. The grant is expected to result in the cleanup of 10 to 15 of those sites and to help with land-use planning of other sites.

Brownfields are sites where expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. In addition, the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act, signed into law by ex-President George W. Bush in 2002, expanded the definition of a brownfield to include mine-scarred lands or sites contaminated by petroleum or the manufacture of illegal drugs. So, see?, he managed to do at least something good in eight years in office.

I saw a couple of my competitor environmental consultants at the ceremony, as well as some state regulators, a former public-utility client, and a few fellow and former members of the Beltline Advisory Board. The whole thing wrapped up in about half an hour, and since nobody was handing our contracts for individual site cleanups on the spot, I was back at the office shortly after lunch.