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                           Brownfields
                           Supplemental Assistance
                           City of Wilmington,  NC
BACKGROUND

EPA awarded the  City of Wilmington supplemental
assistance for its Brownfields Assessment Demonstration
Pilot. Wilmington (population 90,000) is located along the
Cape  Fear  River  in  southeastern North Carolina,
approximately 130 miles south of Raleigh. The city used to
be a busy international port exporting cotton, and was
supported by the  textile industry and small beach
communities. As the textile mills relocated, the economy
became service-based, supporting tourists, the movie
industry, retirees, and students. Today, numerous abandoned
former industrial properties litter the city's downtown
riverfront, discouraging reinvestment in economically
disadvantaged neighborhoods.

The target site for the supplemental assistance is the 19-
acre Love Grove landfill, which is located within the city' s
brownfields target area. This abandoned landfill was once
used as a dumping ground for household garbage. The city
plans to use the supplemental funds to help transform this
landfill into a public greenspace area.  Proposed reuse
alternatives include open space, trails, playgrounds, parks,
gardens, and habitat restoration. Eighty-three percent of
the 4,770 residents living in the Lake Grove neighborhood
and surrounding areas are African-American, as compared
to 30 percent citywide. Median household income in the
target area is nearly half that of the citywide average. The
assessment and cleanup of this unsightly landfill will
provide recreational opportunities for nearby residents
and help beautify a disadvantaged neighborhood.

OBJECTIVES AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES

The original Pilot funding was used to complete aninventory
of 70 sites and conduct environmental assessments at
three priority sites.  With the supplemental funding, the
city's objective is to convert an abandoned landfill into a
public greenspace area. To accomplish this objective,
supplemental assistance funds will be used to conduct a
   PILOT SNAPSHOT
    City of Wilmington,
    North Carolina
Date of Announcement:
May 2002

Amount: $100,000

Profile: This Pilot targets a 19-
acre abandoned landfill adjacent
to a disadvantaged, predom-
inantly African-American
community for redevelopment
into public greenspace.
   Contacts:

   CityofWilmington
   (910)341-3258
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA Region 4
(404)562-8661
        Visit the E PA Region 4 Brownfields web site at:
      http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf/index.htm

      Forfurtherinformation,includingspecific Pilot contacts,
    additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and
    publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
             www.epa.gov/brownfields
Phase II environmental site assessment of the Love Grove
landfill to determine the extent of contamination. This
assessment will be conducted in two parts, the first of
which will target "hot spots" in the landfill, followed by an
investigation of the rest of the site. Supplemental funds
also will be used to conduct community involvement
activities and  develop  an integrated cleanup and
redevelopment plan for the site.

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Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

• Conducting community involvement activities;

• Conducting aPhase II environmental site assessment of
  the landfill; and

• Developing an integrated cleanup and redevelopment
  plan for the site.

The cooperative agreement forthisPilothasnotyetbeennegotiated; therefore,
activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
                                                                Solid Waste             EPA 500-F-02-090
                                                                and Emergency         May 2002
                                                                Response  (5105)        www.epa.gov/brownfields/

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