Star Staff Writer
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| Hobson City Mayor Robert Pyles stands Wednesday on Martin Luther King Drive. A recent study found hazardous levels of selenium, mercury and arsenic in soil and groundwater samples in Hobson City. Photo: Bill Wilson/The Anniston Star |
Mayor Robert Pyles announced the results of a Department of Energy study last week that found hazardous levels of selenium, mercury and arsenic in soil and ground water samples from around town.
The city is applying to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfield Cleanup and Redevelopment program for a grant to determine the extent of the contamination.
The grant deadline is today, and city officials hope getting the grant would contribute to a broader city revitalization effort.
Historically, Brownfield grants have been awarded to cities or other entities to clean up a specific industrial site that is under-used or abandoned. But a change to the law in 2002 expanded the scope of the program, making any contaminated property — or any property that has the potential to be contaminated — eligible for grant consideration.
Private property may be considered for further testing under a Brownfield grant, but the grant does not provide money for cleaning up private properties. Only properties owned by the town or that the town is considering for purchase would be eligible to receive Brownfield money, said Dixie Battey, an environmental scientist with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.
Private property owners could receive other state and federal assistance, Battey said.
Usually Brownfield grants are $200,000 or less and are awarded in the spring, she said.
No cities in Alabama received a Brownfield grant in 2003, but Anniston, Birmingham, Montgomery, Uniontown, Prichard and Selma have received past grants.
Shandra Jackson Smith, a community development consultant working with Hobson City for the past two years, said the grant application is part of a larger town revitalization effort. She began helping the town find money for environmental testing after numerous residents reported high numbers of children with learning disorders and large numbers of cancer victims.
“One aspect of community economic development is having a healthy environment,” she said.
Several of the contaminated soil samples came from sites along the town’s main road, Martin Luther King Drive, which especially concerned her, Smith said.
Unlike Anniston’s PCB contamination, in Hobson City there isn’t any pursuit of legal action to finance assessment and cleanup costs. Since the contamination probably took place decades ago, Smith said there’s little chance of connecting the contamination to its source.
Federal laws prohibit research performed for a Brownfield grant from being used in a lawsuit, Smith said.
“If there is a way to tell an age on the contamination, I’m not sure if we’ll know the source of it,” she said. “So many plants that had these practices are not around.”
Pyles said the town is focusing on identifying and cleaning up the contamination, but he wants to know who is responsible for the hazardous levels of contaminants.
“Somebody should be responsible,” he said. If the grant application is awarded, researchers will investigate the town’s cancer rates and other illnesses that commonly affect residents, Pyles said.
Two committees composed of Hobson City residents and community agency representatives will oversee implementation of a possible grant.
Agencies such as the Calhoun County Health Department, C.E. Hanna Elementary School and public housing may be represented, Smith said. The groups will discuss health concerns and contamination prevention, as well as seek answers to questions such as where is it safe for children to play outside.
Smith said she thinks Hobson City has a good chance of receiving a grant because the preliminary tests showed widespread contamination. Also, minority communities tend to be exposed more frequently to hazardous waste shipped through their areas or produced from nearby industrial facilities, she said.
“I think the EPA is looking a lot at predominantly minority communities,” she said. “I only hope it is obvious that there are problems.”