Brownfields 2002 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet
Catawba Regional Council of Governments, South Carolina
EPA Brownfields Initiative
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states.
communities, and other stakeholders to work together to
prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. A brownfield 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 the Brownfields 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.
Background
EPA has selected the Catawba Regional Council of
Governments (CRCOG) for a Brownfields Assessment
Pilot. CRCOG is an association of four county
governments representing a population of 289,914 in
north-central South Carolina. The council is authorized to
provide technical assistance and economic development
enhancement for the local governments. CRCOG has
identified more than 21 potential brownfield sites across
all four counties and expects to identify more during the
inventory phase of the Pilot. At one time, the region's
economy was largely dependent on the textile industry,
and the majority of potential brownfields identified thus
far are underused, abandoned, or demolished textile
mills. Dilapidated residences originally constructed for
mill workers surround many closed mill buildings.
The former mill sites reflect the precipitous decline in
that industry during the last 20 years. Communities
surrounding the mill sites generally include low- to
moderate-income families and minorities. The
unemployment rate in the four counties is as high as 11.4
percent, compared to 5.3 percent statewide. Minorities
account for about 27 percent of the region's population.
The poverty rate in some areas of the four counties has
reached 17.2 percent, compared to 14.9 percent for the
state.
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 05/01/2002
Amount: $200,000
Profile: Catawba Regional Council of Governments,
South Carolina. The Pilot will primarily target former
textile mill sites in a four-county region that has
suffered economically due to the decline of the textile
industry.
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
(http ://www .epa.gov/brownfields).
EPA Region 4 Brownfields Team
(404) 562-8792
EPA Region 4 Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf)
Grant Recipient: Catawba Regional Council of
Governments, SC
(803)327-9041
Objectives
CRCOG's objective is to incorporate the Brownfields
Pilot into a larger economic development strategy for
the region that seeks to replace lost textile jobs with
diversified employment on redeveloped mill sites. The
Pilot will facilitate this objective by identifying
brownfields in the region, assessing environmental
conditions at selected sites, and developing cleanup
plans.
Activities
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Inventorying possible brownfields sites in the
four-county region;
• Involving local communities in decisions during
the inventory and planning processes;
• Conducting Phase I and II environmental
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 500-F-02-041
May 02
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assessments of priority sites; and
• Assisting local governments in developing
cleanup plans.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet
been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this
fact sheet are subject to change.
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 negotiated. Therefore, activities
described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
United States Q ., . ,A/__t,.
Environmental andldEmSency EPA *»***™
Protection Agency ResDonse(51oVn May 02
Washington, DC 20450 Kesponse (bl Ob I)
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