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Brownfields 2006
Grant Fact Sheet
Forest City, 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 Forest City was selected to receive a
brownfields cleanup grant. Located in Rutherford
County, North Carolina, Forest City (population
7,548) relied on the textile mill industry for a stable
economy for more than 100 years. When the Florence
Mill closed in 2001, 362 jobs were lost and a nine-acre
property in the heart of the downtown area was left
vacant. In the past six years, Rutherford County, which
is highly dependent on manufacturing jobs, has lost
5,800 manufacturing jobs. The Florence Mill is
located in a census tract which has the highest poverty
rate (50.8 percent) of any tract in the county. The site
is contaminated with chlorinated solvents in soil and
groundwater from former drycleaning facilities located
on and adjacent to the property. The deteriorated mill
site and contamination of the 3 5-acre Florence Mill
Cleanup Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Town of Forest City for a
brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances
grant funds will be used to clean up
tetrachloroethene-contaminated soil and ground-
water at the Florence Mill Redevelopment
Project site, at 186 Mill Street. Grant funds will
be used to remove and dispose of contaminated
soil; construct a soil and asphalt cap; and install a
passive vapor system, groundwater monitoring
wells, vapor wells, and sampling wells.
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 Forest City, NC
828-429-2466
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Redevelopment Area as a whole have discouraged
private sector investment. Once brownfields are
cleaned up, the town plans to redevelop the larger
redevelopment project area to include 56 residential
condominiums, a restaurant, a movie theater, a perfor-
mance pavilion, office space, greenspace, and the
relocated Town Hall. Redevelopment of the Florence
Mill, critical to the larger project, is expected to attract
at least $16 million in private sector investment to
redevelop the old mill buildings, create at least 100
permanent jobs, and generate increased tax revenues
for the town.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA 560-F-06-079
May 2006
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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