5 o T> Brownfields 2008 Grant Fact Sheet Spartanburg, 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 The City of Spartanburg was selected to receive two brownfields assessment grants. Located in upstate South Carolina, Spartanburg (population 38,561) is a historic transportation hub that has experienced an 11.5 percent decline in population since 1990. The city attributes much of this loss to the decline of older city neighborhoods and the inhibiting effect vacant and underused brownfields are having on economic growth and development. Today, the city's unemployment rate is 12.8 percent, compared to 5.9 percent statewide. Almost half of Spartanburg's population is African- American. The city has recently developed a Down- town Master Plan that seeks to ensure that new development creates a vibrant and economically sustainable city center. Assessments conducted Assessment Grants $200,000 for hazardous substances $200,000 for petroleum EPA has selected the City of Spartanburg for two brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous sub- stances grant funds will be used to conduct a brownfields inventory and perform about six Phase I and three Phase II environmental site assess- ments. Petroleum grant funds will be used to conduct a brownfields inventory of sites with potential petroleum contamination and perform about eight Phase I and four to six Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to support community outreach activities. 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: City of Spartanburg, SC 864-596-2972 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. through these grants are expected to leverage interest from the private sector to clean up these properties and put them back into productive reuse. Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 560-F-08-088 April 2008 www.epa.gov/brownfields ------- |