EPA recognizes successful redevelopment project associated with the Woolfolk Chemical Works Superfund site in Fort Valley, Georgia

Business Wire, March 6, 1996

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 6, 1996--The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in an action underscoring the Agency's commitment to the cleanup of abandoned property and leaving communities safe, today recognized the joint effort of state and local officials, businesses and industry, community organizations, and developers for the development of a plan to successfully reuse former contamiated property at the Woolfolk Chemical Works Superfund site in Fort Valley, Ga.

Those recognized include: The State of Georgia, the Peach County Library Board of Trustees, the City of Fort Valley, Peach County Chamber of Commerce, Fort Valley Redevelopment Commission, Canadyne-Georgia, Inc., and Sureco.

Peach County Libraries plan to build a new library for the Fort Valley area on properties across the street from the former Woolfolk operations. Additionally, the Chamber of Commerce and the Fort Valley Redevelopment Commission will use adjacent property for the office space. Ground-breaking for the library is expected this summer.

This project, though not one of the Agency's pilot redevelopment projects, underscores the Clinton Administration's Brownfields Action Agenda which is designed to encourage community revitalization by redeveloping abandoned contaminated industrial/commercial land and returning them to productive use. This is the southeast's first cleanup that includes redevelopment as a major component.

John H. Hankinson, Jr., EPA Regional Administrator, said, "This partnership between EPA, State and local governments, businesses, and the community will provide a foundation for sustainable community development, as well as environmental cleanup in Fort Valley. This cooperative effort, along with others in the region, will serve as a working model for a national EPA strategy to stimulate economic redevelopment through environmental cleanup and the return of contaminated Brownfields to productive use."

Canadyne-Georgia Corporation, the former owner/operator of Woolfolk Chemical Works, played the initial role by seeking a means to return contaminated property to productive use following cleanup. The company brought the properties, and under EPA oversight, conducted the cleanup. Upon completion of negotiations, the company will donate the land and contribute funding to help with construction of the library. Additionally, Sureco, the current operator on the Woolfolk site, and the Georgia State Legislature have approved funding for the project.

The leadership provided by the Peach County Library System and its proposal for future use provided the impetus to turn a potential adverse situation into an opportunity for Fort Valley and Peach County.

EPA's involvement in the redevelopment project has been to require cleanup that is protective of human health and the environment for proposed future use of the properties. To encourage redevelopment, EPA has entered into a Prospective Purchaser Agreement with future owners to protect them from Superfund liability as long as the properties are reused in a manner consistent with the agreement. Therefore, library officials will not assume any liability for contamination or cleanup of the property, totaling just under three acres.

The Woolfolk site was placed on the National Priorities List (NPL) of hazardous waste sites in 1990. During an investigation of the site, it was discovered that arsenic and other contaminants had migrated from the site to nearby residential and commercial properties. Under an EPA Administrative Order, Canadyne, in 1994, began a Superfund cleanup at and around the site. The cleanup assures protection by requiring deed restrictions on the properties to prevent future residential use.

EPA will continue to work to develop proposals which will encourage the reuse of previous industrial sites, commonly referred to as Brownfields. On the legislative front, redevelopment initiatives are part of the Administration's proposal to reform Superfund. Administratively, the Agency is sponsoring a series of Brownfield demonstration projects throughout the country to explore the issues and the cleanup challenges that are unique to these sites. EPA is committed to work with communities to lower some of the barriers to urban land reclamation of contaminated sites.

CONTACT: EPA, Atlanta

Betty Winter, Community Relations, 800/435-9234

ext. 6264

Carl Terry, Press Office, 404/347-3555, ext. 6755