Brownfields 2011 Cleanup Grant Fact Sheet
, AL
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 Valley was selected to receive two
brownfields cleanup grants. Valley (population 9,198) is
located on the banks of the Chattahoochee River, a
major resource for the city. Since the 1860s, Valley's
economy had been dependent upon the textile industry.
With the relocation of the industry in the late 1990s and
early 2000s, Valley began losing jobs. Today, all six
area textile mills are closed. Since 2003, about 3,028 of
the 3,949 jobs lost in Chambers County have been from
Valley. The city's revenue stream is based entirely on
sales tax in the city and licensing fees. Both of these
sources have fallen significantly each year since 2008.
Cleanup of the Langdale and Riverdale Mill sites will
help the city develop a tourism-based economy that will
generate jobs and improve the tax base. Once the sites
are cleaned up, the city is expected to build on the
progress already made at the sites and attract
developers, investors, and additional incubator
businesses to the mill buildings.
Cleanup Grants
$165,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Valley for two
brownfields cleanup grants. Hazardous substances
grant funds will be used to clean up the Langdale
Mill property at 5910 19th Street. Built in the 1860s,
this textile mill operated until 2004. Today, parts of
the mill are being used for storage, office facilities,
and a new green incubator business. Contaminants
of concern at the site include metals and inorganic
contaminants. Grant funds also will be used to clean
up the Riverdale Mill property at 50 Middle Street.
Built in the 1860s, the textile mill ended its industrial
uses in the mid-to-late 1990s. A light manufacturing
company leases a section of the mill site.
Contaminants of concern include metals and
inorganic contaminants. Grant funds also will be
used to continue the charrettes, workshops, and
public meetings that have been ongoing since 2005.
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 Valley, AL
(334) 756-5220
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)
E PA 560-F-128-039
May 11
------- |