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  Brownfields  2007

  Grant  Fact  Sheet

     Ware  Shoals,  SC


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 Ware Shoals was selected to receive a
brownfields cleanup grant. Located along the Saluda
River in northwestern South Carolina, Ware Shoals
(population 2,377) is focusing on the cleanup and
reuse of the former Riegel Textile Corporation site.
The former mill, once the center of the town's
economy, was closed in 1985. As a result, the town
lost 80 percent of its labor force. The former mill
stood for years as a source of blight on the town's
riverfront landscape. The town's unemployment rate is
higher than state and county levels and over 15 percent
of residents live in poverty. Through a previous
brownfields grant and the assistance of the state, the
town has assessed contamination on the property and
removed deteriorated structures. The final piece
standing in the way of redevelopment is an old fly ash
 Cleanup Grant
 $200,000 for hazardous substances
 EPA has selected the Town of Ware Shoals for a
 brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances
 grant funds will be used to clean up the Fly Ash
 Landfill portion of the 27-acre former Riegel
 Textile Corporation site located at 36 Main Street
 E. The one-acre abandoned landfill contains
 waste fly ash from past electrical generation for
 the former textile mill. The fly ash landfill is
 contaminated with heavy metals. Grant funds also
 will be used to conduct an analysis of
 brownfields cleanup alternatives and community
 outreach.
 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
404-562-8792
http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf/index.htm

Grant Recipient: Town of Ware Shoals, SC
864-456-7478

The information presented in this fact sheet comes
from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the
accuracy of this information. The cooperative
agreement for the grant has not yet been negoti-
ated. Therefore, activities described in this fact
sheet are subject to change.
landfill on the shore of the Saluda River. The
landfill will be cleaned up through this grant. The
town's Riverfront Redevelopment Advisory Com-
mittee has created a preliminary vision of mixed use
redevelopment of the site, including recreational
areas.
                                                  Solid Waste and
                                                  Emergency Response
                                                  (5105T)
                        EPA 560-F-07-206
                        May 2007
                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

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