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  Brownfields  2006

  Grant  Fact Sheet

       Pembroke,  NC


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 Town of Pembroke was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Located in Robeson
County, North Carolina, Pembroke (population 2,399)
developed along the intersection of two railroad lines.
Most business activity in the area was related to
agriculture and the railroads. Pembroke has been
recognized as the political, economic, and social
center of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. The
town is part of a federally designated Empowerment
Zone/Enterprise Community. It was home to several
oil and chemical plants and facilities that supported
textile manufacturing activities in neighboring com-
munities. As the textile industry declined in response
to globalization and  changing market forces, the
chemical plants and  facilities were abandoned, leaving
potential petroleum contamination. Pembroke has
 Assessment Grant
 $200,000 for petroleum

 EPA has selected the Town of Pembroke for a
 brownfields assessment grant. Petroleum grant
 funds will be used to inventory and prioritize
 brownfields sites, perform Phase I and II environ-
 mental site assessments, develop cleanup and
 reuse plans, and conduct health monitoring and
 community outreach 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: Town of Pembroke, NC
 910-521-9758

 The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
 yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
 in this fact sheet are subject to change.
identified several potential brownfields sites near
residential communities that negatively impact the
community's economic growth and environment. More
than 80 percent of Pembroke's residents are members
of the Lumbee Tribe. The median household income in
Pembroke is 47 percent of the state median, and the
unemployment rate is more than twice the state rate.
Assessment of the town's brownfields sites will  help
the town provide information about petroleum contami-
nation to community groups, business leaders, and
other stakeholders. Redevelopment of Pembroke's
brownfields properties will improve the environment,
bring new job opportunities to the community, and
increase the town's tax base.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                         EPA 560-F-06-082
                         May 2006
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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