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  Brownfields  2008

  Grant Fact Sheet

 Land-of-Sky Regional

     Council,  Western

       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 this 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. Additionally, funding support is
provided to state and tribal response programs through
a separate mechanism.

 Community Description

The Land-of-Sky Regional Council was selected to
receive two brownfields assessment grants. Located in
western North Carolina, the Land-of-Sky Regional
Council serves Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, and
Transylvania Counties (population 344,472). This
mountainous region is underpressure to accommodate
development for the area's growing population of
tourists and retirees. To prevent building on greenfields,
the council is focused on reusing abandoned former
industrial sites. Many brownfields are the result of a
 Assessment Grants
 $200,000 for hazardous substances
 $200,000 for petroleum

 EPA has selected the Land-of-Sky Regional
 Council for two brownfields assessment grants.
 Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
 identify and prioritize brownfields in the region and
 perform four to six Phase I and II environmental
 site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to
 support community outreach activities. Petroleum
 grant funds will be used to perform the same tasks
 at sites with potential petroleum contamination.
 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

 Grant Recipient: Land-of-Sky Regional Council, NC
 828-251-6622

 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.
steady loss of manufacturing. Over the last 30 years,
the number of manufacturing jobs has decreased
significantly. Assessment of brownfields is expected
to facilitate cleanup and generate interest in reuse,
which will preserve undeveloped land and reduce
urban sprawl.
                                                Solid Waste and
                                                Emergency Response
                                                (5105T)
                       EPA 560-F-08-083
                       April 2008
                       www.epa.gov/brownfields

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