&EPA
                   United States
                   Environmental
                   Protection Agency
                   Washington, D.C. 20460
                           Solid Waste
                           and Emergency
                           Response (5101)
      EPA 500-F-98-194
      July 1998
                                 Assessment
Demonstration  Pilot
                                    Burlington,  NC
  Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)
                                            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. Since 1995, EPA has funded more than 200 Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilots,  at up to $200,000  each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations  of
brownfields solutions.  The Pilots 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

EPA has selected the  City of Burlington for a
Brownfields Pilot.  The City (population 42,365) is
located in the Piedmont Crescent region of North
Carolina, between Charlotte and Research Triangle.
The majority ofthe City's African-American, elderly
and low-income population resides in east Burlington,
an area comprising 1.5 square miles. Onceabustling
textile center, east Burlington has experienced a
decline in businesses and employment opportunities
as the local  economy  shifted, leading to rapid
development  of greenfields in the City's western
area.

For nearly a century, Burlington served as a textile
center, but in recent years its economy shifted and the
City is now home to many medical and high-tech
businesses.  Until  the 1980s,  Burlington's major
manufacturing facilities were  located in east
Burlington. In the last decade, however, much ofthe
industrial and commercial development in the City has
shifted to the south and west, close to the interstate.
The closures and downsizing of several textile mills
have limited the employment opportunities for east
Burlington's residents.  While overall the City of
Burlington experiences  a good quality of life and
prosperous business climate, neighborhoods in east
Burlington continue to experience economic decline
                             PILOT SNAPSHOT
                                                Date of Announcement:
                                                July 1998

                                                Amount: $200,000

                                                Profile: The Pilot targets
                                                the 1.5-square-mile east
                                                Burlington area.
                             Burlington, North Carolina
                           Contacts:

                           Planning Department
                           City of Burlington
                           (336)222-5110
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 4
(404) 562-8661
                                 Visit the EPA Region 4 Brownfields web site at:
                            http://www.epa.gov/region4/wastepgs/brownfpgs/bf.htm

                               Forfurtherinformation, 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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and  are threatened  with the onset of blight.
Approximately 22% of the land and buildings in east
Burlington are vacant; many of them are suspected or
perceived to be environmentally contaminated.

OBJECTIVES

Burlington's  primary objective  is to establish  a
proactive, broad-based redevelopment model and
plan that will lead to the cleanup, reuse, and
development of brownfields sites in the community.
The Pilotplansto use community steering committees,
site assessments, and the creation of an information
clearinghouse/database as key factors to achieve its
objective.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

• Conducting Phase I and Phase II environmental
  assessments of all potentially contaminated property
  in east Burlington;

• Instituting a community outreach program;

• Creating a steering committee to utilize citizen
  involvement and collaborative problem-solving; and

• Developing an inventory and information database
  system to help facilitate environmental cleanup,
  economic planning, and redevelopment.

The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been
negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet
are subject to change.
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot                                           Burlington, North Carolina
July 1998                                                                           EPA500-F-98-194

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