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  Brownfields  2006

  Grant  Fact Sheet

       Piedmont Triad

            Council of

        Governments,

         Central North

             Carolina

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 Piedmont Triad Council of Governments
(PTCOG) was selected to receive a brownfields
assessment grant. PTCOG serves a seven-county
region in North Carolina. It plans to focus brownfields
assessment activities in three cities: Lexington, Eden,
and Reidsville (combined population 51,006). Histori-
cally, the economies of these cities depended on the
 Assessment Grant
 $200,000 for hazardous substances
 EPA has selected the Piedmont Triad Council of
 Governments for a brownfields assessment grant.
 Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
 conduct community involvement activities,
 inventory and prioritize brownfields sites, and
 perform Phase I environmental site assessments
 at sites in the Cities of Lexington, Eden, and
 Reidsville.
 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: Piedmont Triad Council of
 Governments, NC
 336-294-4950
 The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
 yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
 in this fact sheet are subject to change.
tobacco and manufacturing industries, including
textiles and furniture production. The decline of these
industries has left behind brownfields, resulted in a
dramatic drop in manufacturing jobs and tax revenues
in the targeted areas, and increased unemployment
rates. Eden alone lost almost 3,000 jobs from 1990 to
2000. The poverty rates in the three target cities range
from 11.6 to 21.2 percent. The City of Lexington
contains about 20 abandoned manufacturing plants,
many next to or in the heart of low-income or minority
neighborhoods. Brownfields negatively affect neigh-
borhoods in these three cities by attracting illicit
activity and inhibiting new economic growth. In
addition, these sites adversely impact the area's 33
                                               Solid Waste and
                                               Emergency Response
                                               (5105T)
                        EPA 560-F-06-083
                        May 2006
                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

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impaired streams and rivers. Once brownfields proper-
ties are assessed and cleaned up, they will be redevel-
oped in accordance with each city's growth manage-
ment and land use plans. Brownfields redevelopment
will attract capital investments that will create jobs.
contribute to the tax base, and improve the quality of
life for area residents.

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