The proposal was passed without a determination as to how it would be funded.  The council amended the resolution requesting Mayor William Bell locate the funds.  The city council does not have the money for this measure. Councilor Lashunda Scales argues "That's the only project I've ever heard of that the council has to pay for.  I don't think it's right,  I think the underlying motive of some of this stuff is just belong belief. I'm gonna leave it at that." The Mayor has not responded to CBS 42's inquiries about whether he plans to fund the proposal.

Birmingham, AL (WIAT) Evidence of toxic contamination and an uncertain future, are simply too much for a church in North Birmingham. After more than fifty years of worship in Collegeville, one church says it must move on. 

Pastor Lorenza Huggins says it's a search for safety. "The high concentration of lead sort of helped us to determine that we needed to get out of here." In this Collegeville Community, of the forty eight properties that have been tested for cancer causing agents like arsenic and Benzo-a-Pyrene, twenty-two, including a school, had to be cleaned up. 

Churchmembers come from, among other places, Clay Chalkville, Trussville, Centerpoint, Hoover, Calera.  Patrice Barnes leaves with a heavy heart, "In my mind it's like i'm driving away from choir rehearsal and ill be back sunday, but it's not going to be that way."

Birmingham, AL (WIAT)  It was a call to action at an environmental town hall meeting in North Birmingham Monday night.  Close to 100 residents filled the Oak Street Baptist Church to hear from the highest ranking federal environmental regulator in the Southeast.

Gwen Keyes Fleming, EPA Region 4 Director, told residents they are committed to cleaning up contamination in these communities.  As we have been telling you for months, in exclusive reports, the federal government has decided they have enough evidence to test and clean up more than the two dozen homes and schools already found to be contamined.  The federal superfund program is moving in.  Keys Fleming says, "Everyone in the region knows this is a top priority for me and they are to bring their A game."

Former Federal Judge U.W. Clemon, who has been called in by Birmingham City Councilor Maxine Parker to help residents says the Superfund designation means, "those who messed it up will be responsible for cleaning it up." In fact, part of the Superfund plan is to find PRP's, personally responsible parties, to pay for future testing and cleanup.  76 properties have already been tested and 23 had high levels of arsenic and BAP.  19 properties have been cleaned up.  

Residents continuously argue that the toxic chemicals coming from industry in their neighborhoods are making them sick and are killing them.  Birmingham City Councilor Maxine Parker and Clemon have been asking the Birmingham City councilors to purchase a vacant building in one of the communities so they can open a clinic.  The clinic, Clemon says, would be staffed by health experts from Cooper Green and hopefully funded partially by industry.  The council voted 4 to 3 recently to reject support for the clnic and sent the matter back to committee.    

Former City Councilor, Aldrich Gunn, attended Monday night's town hall meeting.  He forcefully told the crowd that it was time to, "Stand up and do something, do something!"  In fact, community involvement is a large part of the Superfund declaration according to Clemon.   He encouraged those in attendance to report pollution violations of streams and of the air to either the Alabama Department of Environmental Management or the Envrionmental Protection Agency.

Birmingham, AL (WIAT) Birmingham City Council members opened their doors for environmental experts to explain what will happen with contamination cleanup. The science will soon reveal the facts of how far and wide contamination could stretch beyond three North Birmingham Communities.   76 properties in N. Birmingham have already been tested and about 23 homes and schools had toxic contamination at levels that needed to be cleaned up. Superfund officials say now that they have taken over testing and cleanup in the area, they will test as far and wide as the evidence takes them.  They plan to search for Potentially Responsible Parties to help pay for the cleanup. 

Superfund officials told council members they have a starting point for testing the soil, air and water in North Birmingham.  They will start with the land around the Walter Coke Facility.  Superfund coordinator Jeffery Crowley says, "that's ground zero." Walter Coke is under order from the EPA to test beyond the boundaries of the facility. They have agreed to and have cleaned up some schools and homes.  The company insists they are not responsible for the contamination.

EPA Representative, Karen Knight is working with on-site concerns with Walter Coke.  She says there are several areas they are still concerned with regarding groundwater contamination and issues with what she says are some units on their property. 

Birmingham City Councilor Lashunda Scales represents families outside of the three current communites where testing has taken place.  She wants to make sure her area will be considered for testing since it is very close to Walter Coke and other similar industry. 

Crowley says they welcome any questions, concerns and definitely input from the community.  He says if anyone knows anything about what could be hazardous conditions in the area, they are asking for input.  They have just started a web site http://epa.gov/northbhamproject.

Birmingham, AL (WIAT) Details about Superfund, a federal program to clean up contamination, were revealed to residents today in North Birmingham. But the surprise announcement came from Jefferson County Department of Health Director, Dr. Mark Wilson.

It's long been a cry for the people of Collegeville, Harriman Park and Fairmont that toxins in the soil are affecting their health.  A cry Dr. Mark Wilson is now addressing. He said, "we are going to go ahead and embark on an assessment of the community health concerns as well as access their health care, and start the process of making sure if anybody is having any problems whether they are related to pollution or not that we go ahead and address those concerns and get people the help they need."

What this mean is something residents haven't had before, mobile units in the community doing pulmonary function testing and chest x-rays to assess potential problems.  Wilson says, "In the next month or so I hope we can have a couple of health fair situations..."

Wilson's message may have been lost in the wave of frustration that filled the Hudson k-8 gym. Close to 200 residents listened to representatives from the Federal Environmental Protection Agency, the Jefferson County Health Department, the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry and representatives of Superfund.  Tempers flared as residents demanded more detail.  Now that Superfund is working in the communities, residents are anxious to learn more.  

Jeff Crowley works out of Atlanta for the EPA.  It will be his job to explain and coordinate the superfund program.  He will be getting started in the next few months. He says they plan to conduct soil, air and water testing.   They plan to continue to test as far as the evidence takes them.  Negotiations need to come to a conclusion with Walter Coke before that.  Walter Coke is the industry in the area who has been voluntarily cleaning up contaminated soil at homes and schools while negotiating with the EPA. They have been negotiating with the EPA since 1989 when they were ordered to test for contamination in the community.  Crowley says he understands that waiting for results is not something residents want to hear.  

The Jefferson County Health Department is asking residents to contact them with questions and concerns.  http://www.jcdh.org (24 hr. contact number 933-9110). You can also log on to the North Birmingham Community website at http://nbcation.org

 After months of reporting on arsenic in the soil, cleanup, cancers, asthmas, and lawsuits, the federal government says they will take over the job, and see how far and wide this contamination problem is. One thing that is strongly being stressed is that Superfund - a government funded clean up program - is and will work continuously with community. It's community driven, which is a change from what residents have faced over the years. 

Ken Lass and Sherri Jackson attended the meeting- hear from them on what they heard. 

Birmingham, AL (WIAT) The residents of North Birmingham, many of them struggling with respiratory and cancer problems, say they are in desperate need of a health clinic in their neighborhood.  Imagine their surprise when many of them were told a clinic is already there.

For months, our investigative team has been following former federal Judge U.W. Clemon and his team in their effort to bring a clinic to families living in this heavily industrialized area.  His team created a web site http://nbcaction.org   The web site is updated frequently with the latest information regarding soil and air testing.  It was determined recently that there is already a clinic in the Norwood area, only a few miles from the areas currently being tested. Questions remain however as to whether that facility in the Synergy Regional Medical Plaza, next to the old Carraway Hospital, can offer the care and access that the people of North Birmingham need.

Concerned residents at a Community Action Panel (CAP) meeting Friday morning wanted to know why so many of them didn't know anything about the Norwood Clinic.  The CEO of Birmingham Health Care, Jimmy Lacey, who also attended the meeting said he has no idea why some communities didn't know.  The clinic in Norwood opened in the summer of 2010 and Birmingham Health Care has been around since 1983.  Birmingham Health Care is a non-profit company and is the county's only federally qualified community health center which means the federal funds they receive will go to help those with insurance and those without.  The minimum co-pay at the clinic is $35 however, Lacey says those who are unable to pay for services are still taken care of. 

At least one resident at the CAP meeting said she went to the clinic recently and was turned away because she couldn't pay. Lacey says that's hard to believe and he would like the person's name who was turned away. 

Judge Clemon is being cautious as well. He said, "if there is already in existence a medical facility that is serving the specific needs...respiratory type needs caused by the problem of pollution in the north birmingham area...if there is in existence already serving those needs there, then there's no need for a new clinic."   Lacey acknowledged that in fact there are not experts at the Norwood Clinic who can address those pollution type needs, however he said he's willing to work with community members to see about expanding services to accomodate them.

Many residents expressed an interest in moving forward with Judge Clemon's idea to open a new clinic with health experts from Cooper Green running the facility.  Clemon has told our investigative team he would expect the clinic to be run by private and public funds, particularly funds from industry in the area who either have contributed or are contributing to the pollution.

CBS 42's exclusive series on reports of contamination of soil and air in North Birmingham continues Monday with team coverage.  Federal, state, county and city officials will meet with the public to announce details of Superfund.  Superfund is a government program aimed at environmental clean-up.

The community meeting is at Hudson K-8 school on Shuttlesworth Drive in Collegeville, Monday, January 30. There will be two sessions. One at 4 p.m. and the other at 6:30 p.m.  Birmingham City School system officials and representatives of the EPA and the County Health Department will meet with neighborhood leaders and parents at 2:00 at Hudson as well.