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Brownfields 2006
Grant Fact Sheet
Land-of-Sky Regional
Council, Western
North Carolina
EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders to work together to
prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. Abrownfield site is real property, the
expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be
complicated by the presence or potential presence of a
hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. On
January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed
into law the Small Business Liability Relief and
Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the
Brownfields Law, EPA provides financial assistance to
eligible applicants through four competitive grant
programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund
grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Addi-
tionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal
response programs through a separate mechanism.
Community Description
The Land-of-Sky Regional Council was selected to
receive two brownfields assessment grants. Located in
the Blue Ridge Mountain Range of the Appalachian
Mountains in western North Carolina, the Council
encompasses four counties: Buncombe, Henderson,
Madison, and Transylvania (combined population
344,472). The region has become a popular destination
for tourists and retirees, and population growth
threatens the region's natural capital, while rural
economic distress and loss of high-paying jobs create
pressure to accommodate development. In the past 30
Assessment Grants
$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the Land-of-Sky Regional
Council for two brownfields assessment grants.
Hazardous substances and petroleum grant funds
will be used to identify, characterize, and priori-
tize properties and perform from four to six Phase
I and II environmental site assessments for both
hazardous substances and petroleum sites. Funds
also will be used for cleanup planning and design
and community involvement activities.
Contacts
For further information, including specific grant
contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
news and events, and publications and links, visit
the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/
brownfields.
EPA Region 4 Brownfields Team
404-562-8866
http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf/index.htm
Grant Recipient: Land-of-Sky Regional Council,
NC
828-251-6622
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
years, manufacturing employment has dropped, result-
ing in vacant and underutilized plants and facilities.
The region has 1,015 underground storage tanks, and at
least another 50 contaminated sites. The average wage
in the region is lower than the state and national
averages, and 13.2 percent of residents live in poverty.
The revitalized brownfields will be part of larger
development and community plans to catalyze revital-
ization of blighted areas. Brownfields redevelopment
will attract and maintain high-paying jobs, expand the
tax base, reduce sprawl, create greenspace, and im-
prove soil, air, and water quality.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA 560-F-06-080
May 2006
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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