Brownfields  2005
  Grant  Fact  Sheet
           Sumter, SC
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 Sumter was selected to receive a
brownfields cleanup grant. Located in the heart of
South Carolina, Sumter (population 39,643) is 45
minutes from the capital, Columbia. It is an industrial-
and military-based community on the verge of losing
several of its manufacturers and, potentially, Shaw Air
Force Base, which is on the Department of Defense's
Base  Realignment and Closures List. The cleanup site
is in the city's federally designated Empowerment
Zone (EZ),  which has apopulation of 13,127. More
than 90 percent of the EZ residents are African-
American, and almost 42 percent do not have high
school diplomas. The unemployment rate is 15.5
percent, and more than 28 percent of the EZ families
live in poverty. Brownfields redevelopment in the EZ
   Cleanup Grant
   $50,000 for hazardous substances
   $50,000 for petroleum
   EPA has selected the City of Sumter for a
   brownfields cleanup grant. Grant funds will be
   used for community outreach, planning, and site
   cleanup for both petroleum and hazardous sub-
   stances contamination at the Old Western Auto
   site on Main Street, which covers almost an entire
   city block. Since the 1800s, the site has been used
   for a variety of purposes such as an auto dealer-
   ship, ice and fuel company, filling station, farm
   store, telephone manufacturing company, and
   battery storage facility.
   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 Sumter, SC
  803-436-2575
  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
will create a more attractive environment for residents
and lead to new businesses, jobs, and an increased tax
base for the city. The Old Western Auto site, targeted
for cleanup, will be leased to the local technical college
for its Allied Health Program, creating both jobs and
training opportunities within walking distance for
residents of the EZ. Redevelopment will increase
property values and create greenspace.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                         EPA560-F-05-183
                         May 2005
                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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