&EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5101) EPA 500-F-98-146 May 1998 Assessment Demonstration Pilot Charleston, SC Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101) 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. Since 1995, EPA has funded more than 150 Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of brownfields solutions. The Pilots 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 has selected the City of Charleston for a Brownfields Pilot. The city is targeting its "Neck" area, a 7.3-square-mile federal Enterprise Community (EC) located north of historic Charleston and south of the closed Charleston Naval Complex. Approximately 22,500 people live in the 19 neighborhoods comprising the EC, where the unemployment rate is over 10%, and 40% of the families live in poverty. The median household income in the EC is $ 11,095. Despite contamination from old fertilizer plants and industrial activities dating back more than 100 years, the area has high potential for redevelopment due to its existing infrastructure and proximity to multiple transportation routes. Businesses and commercial developers have been reluctant to invest in the Neck area in fear of environmental contamination of the area's abandoned buildings and vacant lots. Community outreach activities conducted by the Enterprise Community Advisory Council have determined that residents' priority needs are additional jobs and everyday services. OBJECTIVES The city's objective is to create sustainable, healthy neighborhoods that promote economic growth, job opportunities, and improvements in the quality of life PILOT SNAPSHOT Charleston, South Carolina Date of Announcement: May 1998 Amount: $200,000 Profile: The Pilot targets brownfields in the Charleston Enterprise Community for development into a light industrial park for manufacturing and distribution. Contacts: Department of Housings Community Development City of Charleston (803) 724-3766 Regional Brownfields Team U.S. EPA-Region 4 (404) 562-8923 Visit the EPA Region 4 Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/region4/wastepgs/ brownfpgs/bf.htm Forfurtherinformation, 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/ ------- for residents. The Pilot will focus on identifying properties in the EC that are suitable for assessment and future cleanup and redevelopment into a light industrial park, including manufacturing and distribution facilities, as a tool to promote redevelopment in the community. The city has potential candidate sites. Criteria for site selection include: the property owner's willingness to participate; parcel size of at least 30 acres; proximity to existing transportation routes; likelihood of contamination; and community support for the site. The Pilot will complete site identification, conduct environmental site assessments, conduct risk assessments, develop a cleanup and redevelopment plan, and coordinate outreach activities in the EC for the proposed industrial park. ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES Activities planned as part of this Pilot include: • Identifying properties in the EC that are suitable for cleanup and redevelopment; • Conducting environmental and risk assessments at the candidate sites; • Conducting a community involvement program to ensure the concerns of the community are addressed; • Preparing cleanup and redevelopment plans; and • Identifying financing techniques for cleanup and redevelopment. The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Charleston, South Carolina May 1998 EPA500-F-98-146 ------- |