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Brownfields 2005
Grant Fact Sheet
floc/cy Mount, NC
EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders in economic development
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 City of Rocky Mount was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant and a cleanup grant.
Rocky Mount, with a population of 59,893, is a feder-
ally designated Empowerment Zone/Enterprise Com-
munity within two counties in northeastern North
Carolina. Like many downtown areas, the central
business district of Rocky Mount has lost its vitality to
economic growth in the outlying areas of city. It is
struggling to redefine itself following the flood of the
century, and the decline of the tobacco and textile
industries. It is also a city divided, with a county line
defined by railroad tracks that help promote racial
division. Revitalization efforts have targeted the
Douglas Block area, which at one time was the cultural
Assessment Grant
$182,750 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Rocky Mount for a
brownfields assessment grant. Grant funds will be
used to conduct lead, asbestos, and other contami-
nant assessments in buildings in the Douglas
Block project area. Funds also will be used to
prepare remedial plans.
Cleanup Grant
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$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Rocky Mount for a
brownfields cleanup grant. Grant funds will be
used to clean up the three-acre property in the
Douglas Block area where the Old Fenner and
Cobb Carlton tobacco warehouses used to stand.
The land has been found to be contaminated with
heavy metals, particularly arsenic.
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
404-562-8684
http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf/index.htm
Grant Recipient: City of Rocky Mount, NC
252-972-1101
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
and economic hub for the African-American commu-
nity in Rocky Mount. The area has an unemployment
rate of 17 percent, and 52 percent of its residents live
in poverty. Assessment and cleanup of the brownfields
will help the city prepare the area for redevelopment.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA 560-F-05-085
May 2005
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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Redevelopment is expected to encourage investments
that will bring new commercial, cultural, and housing
facilities, and increase employment and tax revenues.
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