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Brownfields 2008
Grant Fact Sheet
Aiken County, 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 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
Aiken County was selected to receive a brownfields
assessment grant. Located in western South Carolina
on the Savannah River, Aiken County (population
151,800) has a long industrial history. It was the
location of the South's first large-scale cotton manufac-
turing plant and home to several textile mills and
associated industries. A chemical release caused by a
train accident in 2005 damaged buildings and machin-
ery atAvondale Mills, originally the Graniteville Manu-
facturing Co., resulting in the mill's closure. More than
1,700 local jobs were lost. The county is targeting sites
in the Graniteville, Vaucluse, and Warrenville communi-
ties (combined population 7,009) for assessment.
Brownfields in these communities encompass more
than 183 acres and include the former Avondale Mills
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected Aiken County for a brownfields
assessment grant. Hazardous substances grant
funds will be used to conduct three to five Phase II
environmental site assessments and support
community involvement activities in the
Graniteville, Vaucluse, and Warrenville communi-
ties.
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: Aiken County, SC
803-642-2012
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.
site, a landfill, and wastewater lagoons. Brownfields
assessment is expected to make the sites more
marketable and facilitate their reuse. Reduction of
blight associated with brownfields is expected to
stimulate economic growth throughout Aiken County.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA 560-F-08-084
April 2008
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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