United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA500-F-01-250
April 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
<>EPA Brownfields Cleanup
Revolving Loan Fund Pilot
State of South Carolina (Coalition with Department of Health and
Environmental Control, on behalf of Abbeville, Anderson, Greenville,
and Spartanburg Counties, and the Towns ofBluffton, Lyman, and
Ware Shoals, and the City of Greenville)
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other stakeholders
in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and an active potential for
redevelopment or reuse. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded up to $250,000 over two
years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models; job training pilot programs (each funded
up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected by brownfields to facilitate cleanup
of brownfields sites and prepare trainees forfuture employment in the environmental field; and, brownfields cleanup revolving
loan fund (BCRLF) programs (each funded up to $1,000,000 over five years), to provide financial assistance for the
environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states, tribes, municipalities, and
communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods to promote a unified approach to
site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.
BACKGROUND
A coalition of counties and towns in South Carolinahas
been established to clean up brownfields in these
communities. This BCRLF coalition includes the
counties of Abbeville, Anderson, Greenville, and
Spartanburg; the towns ofBluffton, Lyman, and Ware
Shoals; and the City of Greenville. This coalition is an
expansion of a previous coalition in South Carolina
made up of the towns of Johnston and Yemasee, the
City of Anderson, and Kershaw County.
The new coalition includes both urban and rural areas
and represents approximately 860,000 people. The area
was once dominated by textile mills and had a strong
industrial economy. The recession of the early 1980's
caused several mills to close and left the region in
economic decline. Poverty rates within the coalition
range from 7% to 20%. In the town of Ware Shoals,
37% of all children and 22% of working-age adults live
below the poverty line, and one in three households
earns less than $10,000 per year.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Date of Announcement:
April 2001
Amount: $1.35 million
BCRLF Target Area:
Locations throughout the
Coalition counties,
townships, and the City
of Greenville
Coalition: The State of South Carolina on behalf of the Counties
of Abbeville, Anderson, Greenville, and Spartanburg, the Towns
of Bluffton, Lvman, and Ware Shoals, and the City of Greenville
Contacts:
South Carolina Department of
Health and Environmental Control
(803) 896-4052
Region 4 Brownfields
Coordinator
(404) 562-8682
Visit the EPA Region 4 Brownfields web site at:
www.epa.gov/region4/topics/cleanup/brownfields.html
For further information, including specific Pilot contacts, additional
Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and publications
and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields
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BCRLF OBJECTIVES
The goals of the State's brownfields program are to
facilitate the cleanup and redevelopment of abandoned,
unused, or underutilized industrial sites with real or
perceived environmental contamination. The State's
Voluntary Cleanup Program, along with local
awareness and interest, supports these efforts.
Several potential BCRLF projects have been identified.
These include the cleanup of former textile mills, the
conversion of an inactive disposal area to a recreation
center, the remediation of the West Greenville/Reedy
River corridor, and the redevelopment of a municipal
wastewater treatment plant.
FUND STRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS
LEVERAGING OTHER RESOURCES
A variety of additional funding sources are available to
BCRLF recipients. Sites owned by a county,
municipality, special purpose district, or nonprofit
corporation can apply for the South Carolina Drinking
Water State Revolving Loan Fund or the Clean Water
State Revolving Loan Fund. Loans from these funds
can be used to mitigate brownfields-related water
quality problems. The CCIC manages several other
lending programs that support the State's overall
brownfields goals. These include the Community
Development Block Grant Loan Program, Commercial
Loan Program for Rural Communities, Carolina Capital
Investment Corporation Revolving Loan Fund, Job
Development Loan Fund, and Business and Industry
Loan Fund.
The South Carolina Department of Health and
Environmental Control (DHEC) will serve as the lead
agency and the site manger. The Carolina Capital
Investment Corporation (CCIC), a nonprofit
organization, will assume the fund manager
responsibilities. CCIC is the administrative arm for the
South Carolina Jobs Economic Development Agency
(JEDA).
Preference will be given to applicants developing sites
that demonstrate socio-economic need, have sustainable
redevelopment plans, and show the potential for job
creation.
Use of BCRLF Pilot funds must be in accordance with
CERCLA, and all CERCLA restrictions on use of funding
also apply to BCRLF funds.
Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund Pilot
April 2001
South Carolina
EPA 500-F-01-250
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