United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-01-329
July 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
&EPA Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Cowpens, SC
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other
stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and
sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and
an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded
up to $200,000 over two years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models; job training
pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected
by brownfields to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental
field; and, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds
to make loans for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states,
tribes, municipalities, and communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods
to promote a unified approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.
BACKGROUND
EPA selected the Town of Cowpens foraBrownfields
Pilot. Cowpens established atextile mill at the turn of
the century, and chemicals were increasingly used to
advance the industry. In the late 1960s, amajortextile
dying and finishing company moved into the area. In
1990, the company declared bankruptcy, closed the
facility, and left town, eliminating 400 jobs in the
process. The closing of this facility, complicated by
possible environmental contamination and on-site
vandalism, has had a devastating economic impact on
the town.
The Pilot-targeted site is an abandoned, 228,000-
square-foot textile facility located on 70 acres within
the town limits. Economic problems faced by Cowpens
include unemployment and low wages. Of the town's
930 households, 261 have no earnings, and the average
per capita income is $9,844. For the past nine years,
the town has not received property taxes from the
abandoned facility. Several industrial prospects have
investigated the site, but have chosennotto redevelop
it based on initial investigations and unknown
environmental conditions, including possible
groundwater and soil contamination.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Dateof Award: September 1997
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilottargetsa228,000-
square-footabandonedtextilefacility
located on 70 acres.
Cowpens, South Carolina
Contacts:
Town of Cowpens
(864)949-5250
U.S. EPA-Region 4
(404)562-8923
Visit the EPA Region 4 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region4A/vaste/bf/bf.htm
For further information, including specific Pilot contacts,
additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and
publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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OBJECTIVES
LEVERAGING OTHER ACTIVITIES
Cowpens' objective is to obtain technical assistance
to evaluate and assess environmental contamination
in the Pilot area. Extensive testing was initiated at the
site, but further site assessment is necessary. The
Pilot will also help identify methods to fund cleanup
and develop a comprehensive reuse strategy.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
The Pilot has:
• Conducted the first Cowpens Brownfields Pilot
Town Meeting in the elementary school across the
street from the Pilot site [the mayor, EPA
representatives, South Carolina Department of
Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) officials,
and University of South Carolina (USC)
representatives participated and answered questions
by the residents surrounding the targeted site]; and
• Collected 30 hydrosparge samples to assess a
contaminated groundwater plume. Hydrosparging
is a technique used to characterize the plume of
contaminants in a shallow aquifer.
The Pilot is:
• Conducting site assessments and developing apian
for cleanup and redevelopment; and
• Conducting community outreach.
Experience with the Cowpens Pilot has been a catalyst
for related activities, including the following:
• The Pilot received a commitment by the Center for
Manufacturing and Technology at USC to assist the
Town of Cowpens in a redevelopment study. The
center will determine the feasibility of developing an
eco-industrial park.
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducted
approximately $40,000 worth of assessment
activities, which includedhydrosparging.
• The Center for Economic and Community
Development at USC Spartanburg completed an
economic baseline study of the Town of Cowpens
relative to the rest of Spartanburg County for Pilot
use.
• A local company removed 85 drums of hazardous
materials from the target site at its own cost; the
cleanup cost for the company was estimated at
between $25,000 and $50,000.
• A local environmental company performed an
asbestos survey for the targeted site at no cost.
• A Cowpens brownfields web page was developed
for the town's web site.
• The Pilot-leveraged redevelopment dollars to date
total approximately $800,000.
• The town received a $500,000 Brownfields Cleanup
Revolving Loan Fund Pilot grant from EPA.
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot
July 2001
Cowpens, South Carolina
EPA 500-F-01-329
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