Region 4 Economic Profile
Putting Sites to Work: How Superfund Redevelopment in the Southeast Region Is Making a Difference in Communities
Superfund Redevelopment
Region 4 helps communities and cleanup managers consider redevelopment during cleanup planning and evaluate remedies already in place to ensure appropriate redevelopment.
State Redevelopment Profiles
Alabama
Alabama. Click to expand.
EPA partners with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to oversee the investigation and cleanup of Superfund sites in Alabama. Alabama has 11 Superfund sites in reuse or continued use, providing 1,523 jobs and $118 million in employee income per year. The table above present economic data for sites in reuse or continued use in Alabama.
Florida
Florida. Click to expand.
EPA partners with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to oversee the investigation and cleanup of Superfund sites in Florida. Florida has 61 Superfund sites in reuse or continued use, providing 9,586 jobs and $724 million in employee income per year. The table above present economic data for sites in reuse or continued use in Florida.
Georgia
Georgia. Click to expand.
EPA partners with the Environmental Protection Division of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to oversee the investigation and cleanup of Superfund sites in Georgia. Georgia has 15 Superfund sites in reuse or continued use, providing 1,450 jobs and $62 million in employee income per year. The table above present economic data for sites in reuse or continued use in Georgia.
Kentucky
Kentucky. Click to expand.
EPA partners with the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection to oversee the investigation and cleanup of Superfund sites in Kentucky. Kentucky has eight Superfund sites in reuse or continued use, with businesses providing $433 million in annual sales and $60 million in employee income per year. The table above present economic data for sites in reuse or continued use in Kentucky.
Mississippi
Mississippi. Click to expand.
EPA partners with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality to oversee the investigation and cleanup of Superfund sites in Mississippi. Mississippi has five Superfund sites in reuse or continued use, with businesses providing $27 million in annual sales and $12 million in employee income per year. The table above present economic data for sites in reuse or continued use in Mississippi.
North Carolina
North Carolina. Click to expand.
EPA partners with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to oversee the investigation and cleanup of Superfund sites in North Carolina. North Carolina has 21 Superfund sites in reuse or continued use, providing 2,016 jobs and $116 million in employee income per year. The table above present economic data for sites in reuse or continued use in North Carolina.
South Carolina
South Carolina. Click to expand.
EPA partners with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control to oversee the investigation and cleanup of Superfund sites in South Carolina. South Carolina has 21 Superfund sites in reuse or continued use, providing 1,102 jobs and $56 million in employee income per year. The table above present economic data for sites in reuse or continued use in South Carolina.
Tennessee
Tennessee. Click to expand.
EPA partners with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to oversee the investigation and cleanup of Superfund sites in Tennessee. Tennessee has 17 Superfund sites in reuse or continued use, providing 2,868 jobs and $141 million in employee income per year. The table above present economic data for sites in reuse or continued use in Tennessee.
Beneficial Effects
Businesses and Jobs
The 555 businesses, government agencies and civic organizations operating on cleaned-up Superfund sites in Region 4 include:
- Olin Corporation
- Akzo Nobel Functional Chemical
- Miami-Dade County Public Works Department
- Cardinal Health
- Piper Aircraft
- GE Lighting Systems
The businesses and organizations at these sites:
- Earn $7.4 billion in revenue per year
- Provide 19,600 jobs and $1.3 billion in employee income per year
- Inject money into local economies through wages and purchases of supplies and services
- Support state and local governments through personal income taxes and sales taxes
Davis Timber Site: It shows how and why reusing sites makes a lot of sense. Communities benefit from the new uses. Agencies have local eyes on the site. It saves time, energy and resources for everyone.” -Trey Hess, former Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
Property Values and Property Tax Revenues
Properties cleaned up under the Superfund program and returned to use have the potential to increase in value significantly. This increased value can boost property tax revenues, which help pay for local government operations, schools, transit systems and other public services.
EPA has collected property value and tax data for half of the Superfund sites in reuse and continued use in Region 4. They have:
- A total property value of $796 million
- An average total property value per acre of $78,000
- A combined $10 million generated in local property taxes annually
Enhanced Recreational and Ecological Amenities
In addition to hosting commercial developments, retail centers and industrial facilities, many Region 4 sites in reuse and continued use provide recreational and ecological benefits. Careful planning can enable the integration of green spaces and habitat into site cleanup plans, resulting in the transformation of contaminated properties into valuable community and wildlife assets. Green spaces are integral components of sustainable communities – they can help protect the environment and human health while providing other social and economic benefits. Parks, community gardens and other public green spaces create opportunities for people to gather, exercise and connect with nature. The creation of green spaces and habitat at once-contaminated properties can serve to re-introduce ecosystems and biodiversity into urban and suburban landscapes by providing corridors for migrating species and preserving habitat. They can also mitigate stormwater runoff problems by slowly absorbing and naturally filtering stormwater, resulting in improved water quality due to decreased runoff and erosion. Protected green space can also increase the property values of nearby homes by providing amenities that draw people to live and work in the community.
- Following the cleanup of the Armstrong World Industries site in Macon, Georgia, the area is now a thriving pollinator meadow with over 50 locally native plants representing the natural history of central Georgia.
- On the Lonnie C. Miller, Sr. Park section of the Jacksonville Ash site in Jacksonville, Florida, recreational amenities include playground equipment, picnic pavilions, a restroom building, a sand volleyball court, paved walking paths and parking areas.
- Parts of the Agrico Chemical Company site in Pensacola, Florida, are in ecological reuse as pollinator habitat. The habitat area includes more than 1,700 pollinator-friendly plants, which also enhance the site’s remedy by preventing erosion around the engineered cap.
Why Are Wetlands Economically Important?
Superfund site reuse can support wetland habitat, as seen at several sites in Region 4. A native plant habitat reserve and wetlands cover part of the Solitron Microwave site in Port Salerno, Florida. At the Northwest 58th Street Landfill site in Hialeah, Florida, visitors can walk along a trail to view the wetland area and associated wildlife. Cleanup of the Raleigh Street Dump site in Tampa, Florida, expanded the previously existing wetlands habitat, creating a wildflower and native grass meadow. The restoration effort earned the site EPA Region 4’s Excellence in Site Reuse Award.
Wetlands provide a variety of benefits. The combination of shallow water, high levels of nutrients and primary productivity is ideal for organisms that form the base of the food web and feed many species of fish, amphibians, shellfish and insects. Wetlands are extremely effective in removing pollutants from water and acting as filters for future drinking water. Wetlands play a role in reducing the frequency and intensity of floods. They can store large amounts of carbon. They also provide recreational amenities.
These benefits have economic value. Worldwide, wetlands provide an estimated $14.9 trillion in ecosystem services. To learn more, see:
Former Spellman Engineering Site: Our goal was to utilize a city and [Orlando Utilities Commission] asset to satisfy several community needs. We needed to help EPA commence a cleanup, but we also wanted to encourage transit-oriented infill that was sensitive to the surrounding historic neighborhood, while also helping provide athletic opportunities to an important downtown educational institution. We also managed to alleviate long-challenging parking problems for the nearby shopping district and establish a segment of the Dinky Line Trail. Fortunately, we found a capable and willing partner in this process with EPA.” -Buddy Dyer, Mayor of Orlando, Florida
Redevelopment in Action
HARRIS CORP. (PALM BAY PLANT)
Continued Industrial Use and New Public Service Uses
The 310-acre Harris Corp. (Palm Bay Plant) Superfund site is located in Palm Bay, Florida. Since the 1950s, a variety of manufacturing activities have taken place at the site. These activities include manufacturing of integrated circuits for government defense and aerospace programs, as well as products for consumer electronics and telecommunications equipment. Cleanup activities included extraction and treatment of contaminated groundwater and groundwater use restrictions. Groundwater monitoring is ongoing.
The successful cleanup of the site allowed for continued manufacturing operations and new reuses on the property. Harris Corporation has been manufacturing electronic parts, communication and information processing equipment on site since 1967. In February 2015, Harris Corporation opened its 464,000-square-foot, $130 million Harris Technology Center on site. It is certified in efficient design and construction and includes state-of-the-art conference facilities and engineering labs. The center’s construction created nearly 300 jobs for workers in the area. The facility serves as the company’s Florida innovation hub and houses about 1,330 engineers and staff. Harris Corporation also operates its Government Communications Systems Division on site, which employs about 3,140 additional staff.
Intersil Corporation previously made semiconductors on site. Intersil Corporation worked with EPA and the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) to finalize FIT’s purchase of the facility and land. Today, FIT is using the property as an extended campus. To address concerns regarding use of the property, EPA drafted a comfort letter to clarify that FIT’s intended reuse of the site is safe and appropriate. In 2018, Renesas Electronics Corporation acquired Intersil and continues to make semiconductors on site. Together, site businesses employ over 5,200 people, contributing nearly $444 million in estimated annual employee income and generating over $2.2 billion in estimated annual sales. In 2017, site property parcels had a total value of over $114 million, generating over $1.7 million in annual property taxes.
MARTIN-MARIETTA, SODYECO, INC.
Eco-Industrial Park
The Martin-Marietta, Sodyeco, Inc. Superfund site is located about 10 miles west of Charlotte, North Carolina. For over 70 years, various companies produced textile dyes, chemicals and other industrial products on site. Improper disposal of chemical wastes and landfilled materials contaminated site soil and groundwater. EPA placed the site on the NPL in 1983. EPA’s cleanup included capping some contamination in place, disposing of waste materials and contaminated soil off site, and groundwater treatment. EPA deferred the site to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) program and deleted the NPL listing in 2012. The property’s delisting qualified it for state and federal brownfield grants and incentives.
To make reuse possible, EPA’s Superfund and RCRA programs worked closely with the site owner and the community to make sure reuse plans were compatible with the cleanup. Thanks to those cooperative efforts, Forsite Development has transformed the 667-acre area along the Catawba River into ReVenture Park, a business park focused on energy efficiency, renewable energy and environmental technology. The redevelopment has breathed new life into the site by reusing its extensive existing infrastructure – rail and interstate access, a wastewater treatment facility, industrial space, utility substations and transmission lines, and a 360-million-gallon containment pond – to create a platform for large-scale renewable energy and alternative fuel projects. The project is home to a biomass combined heat-and-power project, a fuels and lubricants distributor, a composite walls contractor, a composting operation, and a commercial refrigeration equipment manufacturer, among others. This once-contaminated area now supports businesses that provide jobs and services to the community and strive to do so in environmentally conscious ways. Today, those site businesses employ 30 people and generate over $4.2 million in estimated sales revenue. In 2017, site property parcels had a total value of over $4.5 million, generating nearly $50,000 in annual property taxes.
Environmental stewardship is also an integral part of site redevelopment plans. A 185-acre conservation area enhances the site’s natural resources. Projects include wildlife habitat, stream restoration and a trail system connecting the regional Carolina Thread Trail across the site to the nearby U.S. National Whitewater Center. Site wildlife includes osprey, white egrets, bald eagles, kestrels and wild turkey.
This is a historic day for Charlotte and North Carolina and this entire region. We’re coming together to make something happen, to revitalize what was once a brownfield and make it a greenfield again. This is a win for jobs, it’s a win for the environment, it’s a win for future economic development, it’s a win for our quality of life, it’s a win for the Catawba River…This is a win for North Carolina.” - Pat McCrory, former Governor of North Carolina.
CASCADE PARK GASIFICATION PLANT
Cascades Park
The 10-acre Cascade Park Gasification Plant site is in Tallahassee, Florida. From 1895 until the mid-1950s, the city of Tallahassee operated a manufactured gas plant (MGP) on site. The plant converted coal into gas that was used for lighting and heating fuel. Cleanup activities included excavation of contaminated soil, capping of the landfill portion of the site and monitoring contaminated groundwater.
Local stakeholders developed a community-wide redevelopment plan that manages stormwater, creates a public park, preserves local natural resources and celebrates the site’s history. In 2008, EPA Region 4 recognized the community’s planning efforts with its Excellence in Site Reuse Award. In April 2010, the city and Blueprint 2000, a local intergovernmental agency, began construction of the 24-acre Cascades Park, which includes the former MGP property. Cascades Park officially opened in March 2014. Over 1,000 people attended the opening ceremony.
Today, the park serves as an entertainment hub in the community. It includes the Capital City Amphitheater, which features a canopied stage that is visible from all parts of the park. Imagination Fountain attracts children with a water play area and a nighttime light and sound show. The park also features playgrounds and miles of trails. A Korean War Memorial and Tallahassee's Smokey Hollow Commemoration are also located on site. Founded in the 1890s, Smokey Hollow was a vibrant African American community that once covered much of the area that is now Cascades Park. In the 1960s, the community was slated for “urban renewal” by the state and hundreds of residents were displaced from their homes. The Commemoration serves as a tribute to the community and features a pavilion, community and heritage gardens, interpretive panels, and spirit houses, which represent the shotgun houses that defined the original neighborhood.
In addition to providing recreational and cultural amenities, the park also serves as a stormwater management system, consisting of a network of underground channels, open streams and retention ponds. To provide flood relief to the north and south, Cascades Park is designed to flood during major storm events. A large underground channel called a box culvert diverts the runoff generated by large storm events directly to the on-site Boca Chuba Pond to protect a restored stream and minimize impacts on the park.
The Cascade Park amphitheater was the impetus for the mixed-use Cascades Project — an ambitious urban development planned for a two-block area, directly across from the park. Features will include housing, retail, office, dining and hotel space as well as pathways connecting to downtown. In addition, the project will result in the creation of a community-envisioned historical plaza, the restoration of the Old City Waterworks building and the preservation of the architecturally significant former County Health Unit. According to the developers, the mixed-use project is expected to generate more than $350 million in economic impacts and create nearly 700 permanent jobs.
CALHOUN PARK AREA
Carefully Selected Cleanup Approach Enables Wide Range of Reuses
The Calhoun Park Area site is located on the Charleston peninsula in South Carolina. From 1855 to 1957, a manufactured gas plant operated on site and produced coal tar as a byproduct of the manufacturing process. Following the plant’s closure and demolition in the late 1950s, a substantial amount of coal tar remained buried in the soil as the area was being developed with buildings, streets and local infrastructure. South Carolina Electric and Gas (SCE&G), the site’s potentially responsible party, built an electrical substation on site in the late 1970s. In 1991, EPA and state investigations found that the MGP plant operations had contaminated soil, sediment and groundwater. The site was never listed on the NPL but was addressed under an alternative cleanup approach.
Early cleanup efforts included installation of sand blankets over contaminated sediment in the Cooper River and addressing contaminated stormwater discharges. Additional cleanup included removal of contaminated soil and dense non-aqueous phase liquid, groundwater treatment, sediment capping in the Cooper River, institutional controls, and long-term groundwater monitoring.
EPA, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, and SCE&G worked together to clean up the site in a way that enabled the continued operation of the electrical substation, facilitated new development and minimized the impact of cleanup activities on existing businesses. Following cleanup efforts in accessible areas, coal tar remained in place beneath the substation property. Because the substation supplies electricity to the entire Charleston peninsula and outlying areas, it was critical that it remain in service. SCE&G used innovative approaches to address that contamination. Cleanup efforts are ongoing.
The site’s reuse demonstrates how integrating remediation and redevelopment activities can create a wide range of opportunities for local communities. New site developments include the opening of a 76-unit residential development called The Gadsden in 2018 and the completion of Williams Terrace, an independent-living community for seniors. Altogether, site businesses employ about 200 people, contributing nearly $15 million in estimated annual employee income and generating over $35 million in estimated annual sales.
Cleanup has also resulted in ecological and recreational benefits. Cleanup of the site’s riverbanks included shoreline restoration efforts and expansion of an existing Oyster Research Study Area – the effort involved using oyster shell bags to supplement an existing sand cap. These activities helped reestablish ecological habitats. Part of the site also now supports Gadsenborough Park. After undergoing a $5.7 million renovation, the park provides the community and visitors with sports fields and a host of other recreational amenities.
REDEVELOPMENT ON THE HORIZON
TRANSFORMING A FORMER WOOD TREATING FACILITY INTO THE FUTURE LOUISVILLE RAIL PARK
The 120-acre American Creosote Works, Inc. site in Louisville, Mississippi, is the site of a former wood-treating facility that operated from 1912 to 1997. The facility pressure-treated wood products with creosote oil and coal tar solutions and, until the early 1980s, discharged waste into three ponds on site. Improper materials handling and disposal practices resulted in the contamination of groundwater, sediment and soil at the site.
EPA listed the site on the NPL in 2001. EPA, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers investigated site conditions and cleaned up the site. Cleanup actions included removal, disposal, and capping of waste and contaminated soil from two waste pond areas, removal of remaining subsurface creosote, installation of a retaining wall, subsurface barrier wall and cap system, tank decommissioning, wastewater treatment, metals recycling, and hazardous debris disposal. A water line connects residents and businesses to the public water system. Cleanup finished in 2017. EPA plans to place institutional controls on the site to limit land use activities and prohibit access to groundwater.
In 2005, the city of Louisville and community stakeholders came together to discuss future use of the site and developed a reuse plan. In 2015, with cleanup close to completion, EPA Region 4 sponsored a reuse assessment to update the 2005 plan. That effort resulted in the 2015 Reuse Concept Plan. The Plan identified about 60 acres for rail, transportation and industrial uses and about 94 acres for recreation and open space. The Plan identified several assets that make the site ideal for rail, transportation and industrial uses, including a rail spur that connects to the Kansas City Southern rail line, an on-site electric substation operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority and potential for dedicated truck access. For recreational and open space uses, Hughes Creek and the surrounding floodplain form a natural buffer area, making it ideal for wildlife habitat and trail areas with access to the creek.
To help support the future use of the site, the city of Louisville and Winston County built a rail-loading facility and recently added gas and electrical lines. The city plans to rename part of the site “Louisville Rail Park.” The city also made sure that its updated comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance would support future commercial, industrial and recreational reuses at the site. Today, EPA, the state of Mississippi, the city of Louisville and Winston County continue to take steps to make reuse at the site a reality.
Conclusion
EPA works closely with its partners at Superfund sites across Region 4 to make sure sites can safely be reused or remain in continued use during and following cleanup. EPA also works with businesses and organizations at Superfund sites throughout the cleanup process to make sure they can remain open. The businesses and organizations at these sites provide jobs and income for communities and generate local and state taxes. Cleanup and redevelopment also help stabilize and boost property values.
Region 4 has cleaned up 159 Superfund sites that have been redeveloped or are in continued use. These sites provide 19,622 jobs and $1.3 billion in employee income per year. Future uses are planned for many more Superfund sites in Region 4. EPA remains committed to working with all stakeholders to support Superfund redevelopment opportunities in all eight states of Region 4.
Airco Superfund site: Throughout our time working together, I’ve realized that Airco and EPA share two common goals: doing what is right from an environmental standpoint and keeping our doors open. I’m thankful for that aspect of our relationship with the Agency.” -Michael King, Airco Plating President
Site Redevelopment Resources
EPA Region 4 Superfund Redevelopment Program Coordinators
- Shelby Johnston | 404-562-8287 | johnston.shelby@epa.gov
- Joydeb Majumder | 404-562-9121 | majumder.joydeb@epa.gov
- Scott Miller | 404-562-9120 | miller.scott@epa.gov
Superfund Sites in Reuse
Find more information about Superfund sites in reuse
Superfund Redevelopment Program Website
Tools, resources and more information about Superfund site reuse
EPA Office of Site Remediation Enforcement Website
Tools that address landowner liability concerns
