Brownfields 2009 Assessment Grant Fact  Sheet
               North Charleston, SC
EPA Brownfields Program

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. In
2002, the Small Business Liability Relief and
Brownfields Revitalization Act was passed to help
states and communities around the country cleanup and
revitalize brownfields sites. 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 North Charleston was selected to receive
two brownfields assessment grants. Incorporated in
June 1972, North Charleston (population 91,421) is
located in Charleston and Dorchester Counties. From
the 1600s until the Civil War, the area north of the City
of Charleston was primarily occupied by plantations.
After the Civil War, much of the land was used to house
phosphate fertilizer plants and for extensive strip
mining.  Since the early 1900s, growth in the North
Charleston area has depended on the industrial, military,
and business communities. Unfortunately, residents
have been moving from the older urban core to the
suburbs, leaving behind the industrial legacy of
brownfields and blighted neighborhoods. More than 53
percent of city residents are minorities,  and 23 percent
live below the poverty level. An informal inventory
identified at least 20 potential brownfields in the city.
Brownfield assessments will help the city determine the
extent and nature of the contamination,  and begin to
either clean up sites or mitigate associated risks. They
also are  expected to facilitate redevelopment.
                   Assessment Grants

                   $200,000 for hazardous substances
                   $200,000 for petroleum

                   EPA has selected the City of North Charleston for
                   two brownfields assessment grants.
                   Community-wide hazardous substances and
                   petroleum grant funds will be used to conduct a
                   brownfields inventory and perform at least 12 Phase
                   I and 6 Phase II environmental site assessments. The
                   city anticipates preparing at least three alternative
                   cleanup plans. 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
                   (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: City of North Charleston,SC
                   (843) 740-2588

                   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
  Environmental
  Protection Agency
  Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 560-F-09-227
        May 09

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