[CPEO-BIF] Biloxi (MS) Brownfields Workshop report

[Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com>]

[To download a formatted three-page 964 KB PDF file of Lenny Siegel's 
report, with photos, go to 
http://www.cpeo.org/pubs/BiloxiWorkshopReport.pdf.]

Biloxi Brownfields Workshop
A brief report

Lenny Siegel
August 13, 2007

On August 11, 2007 more than 25 people gathered at the Faith Tabernacle 
Church in Biloxi, Mississippi for the Southern Mississippi Community 
Brownfields Workshop. The all-day event was sponsored by the Center for 
Environmental and Economic Justice, headed by Bishop James Black of the 
host church, and the Center for Public Environmental Oversight (CPEO). 
It is one of a series of "Brownfields 101" workshops being organized by 
CPEO across the country. Both the Mississippi Department of 
Environmental Quality and U.S. EPA's southeastern region (Region 4) 
provided support and presenters.

Participants heard talks on site assessment, risk management, community 
engagement, and Mississippi's programs designed to aid communities 
engaged in (or likely to begin) brownfields redevelopment. Wilma Subra, 
the Lousiana-based community technical consultant, presented papers on 
dioxins in St. Louis Bay, Mississippi, and a human health survey in 
coastal Jackson County, Mississippi. Bishop Black led a discussion on 
opportunities for public-benefit redevelopment along the Gulf Coast in 
the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

For me, the most interesting talks - because they covered material I was 
unfamiliar with - were case studies presented by two African-American 
environmental consultants. LaVonne McGee of Technical Aspects, LLC 
described the restoration of the historic Farish Street neighborhood in 
Jackson, Mississippi's capital. Charles Ray of PPM Consultants recounted 
the redevelopment of the Mercy Hospital site in St. Petersburg, Florida. 
The Farish Street district is an EPA Brownfields Showcase Community. The 
Mercy Hospital project won EPA's coveted Phoenix Award in 2005.

The two projects were remarkably similar. The Farish Street District was 
one of Mississippi's largest "economically independent, African-American 
communities" in the era of segregation. The City of Jackson converted an 
old dry-cleaner into a police substation, and it restored the landmark 
Alamo Theater, driving the restoration of entire area. Mercy Hospital, a 
Jim Crow medical center, was closed in 1966. It was abandoned in 1986 
due to asbestos contamination. With direction from the local 
African-American community, St. Petersburg cleared and cleaned the site, 
incorporating portions of the original building into a museum about 
African-American hospital, and it built a new structure with medical and 
dental clinics.

Throughout the South, landmarks from the segregation era have been 
abandoned, ignored, and destroyed. Perhaps both white and black 
communities want to forget this blot on our history, but it's important, 
in understanding continuing racial disparity, to remember both the shame 
of legal racism and the resiliency of African-American communities. 
These two projects represent a refreshing response: Old properties are 
being cleaned, restored to their historical significance, and made 
available for beneficial reuse.

I remember Missisippi from my brother's stint as a civil rights worker 
in 1964 and Phil Ochs's memorable lyric, "Mississippi find yourself 
another country to be part of." Environmental injustice and social 
inequality remain, but times have changed. African-Americans are 
accepted and respected as environmental leaders and experts.

Finally, our Biloxi workshop brought together black and white community 
activists, private consultants, academia, and government officials. We 
believe we have helped lay the groundwork for new partnerships to turn 
contaminated sites into projects, such as affordable housing, to serve 
the most underserved residents of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.


--


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org


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