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SMART GROWTH PROJECT AIMS TO CURTAIL URBAN SPRAWL
Release Date: 04/16/99
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 1999
SMART GROWTH PROJECT AIMS TO CURTAIL URBAN SPRAWL
A new effort under EPA’s Project XL reinvention program will make it possible to transform a recently-closed midtown Atlanta, Ga., industrial site into an environmentally beneficial “smart growth” project. Project XL tests innovative ways of achieving public health and environmental improvements. Without the flexibility provided by Project XL, it would not be feasible to develop the 138-acre Atlantic Steel site. The site is now an unused “brownfield,” a place where traditional redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived contamination. A cooperative effort by EPA, Jacoby Development Inc., community and environmental representatives ensured that redeveloped site will not worsen Atlanta’s air pollution problem. The city’s air pollution problems block new road construction projects which require federal funding or approval. Project XL will allow construction of a bridge linking a nearby public transportation rail station and the site, facilitating connecting trips that are environmentally beneficial. Lanes will be dedicated for public transit, cyclists and pedestrians, as well as vehicles, to encourage use of commuting alternatives. Dual results are anticipated: accelerating the cleanup of an urban industrial site and averting increased pollution from vehicle emissions that would result from development of a similar site outside the city. In a related move, a faster process for developing Project XL pilot projects was announced in a Federal Register notice on April 5. The Atlantic Steel project applied this time saving process, resulting in an agreement on the first phase of the project after only nine months; previous projects took at least 18 months. Including the Atlantic Steel project, there are now 11 XL projects being implemented and 30 others in development. Details on the new process, the Atlantic Steel project and other XL information can be found at: https://www.epa.gov/ProjectXL.
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