^    Brownfields 2007 Cleanup Grant  Fact Sheet
               Ware Shoals, 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. 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.

Community Description

The Town of Ware Shoals was selected to receive a
brownfields cleanup grant. Located along the Saluda
River in northwestern South Carolina, Ware Shoals
(population 2,377) is focusing on the  cleanup and reuse
of the former Riegel Textile Corporation site. The
former mill, once the center of the town's economy,
was closed in 1985. As a result, the town lost 80
percent of its labor force. The former mill stood for
years as a source of blight on the town's riverfront
landscape. The town's unemployment rate is higher
than state and county levels and over  15 percent of
residents live in poverty. Through a previous
brownfields grant and the assistance of the state, the
town has assessed contamination on the property and
removed deteriorated structures. The final piece
standing in the way of redevelopment is an old fly ash
landfill on the shore of the Saluda River. The landfill
will be cleaned up through this grant. The town's
Riverfront Redevelopment Advisory Committee has
created a preliminary vision of mixed use
redevelopment of the site, including recreational areas.
                   Cleanup Grant

                   $200,000 for hazardous substances

                   EPA has selected the Town of Ware Shoals for a
                   brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances
                   grant funds will be used to clean up the Fly Ash
                   Landfill portion of the 27-acre former Riegel Textile
                   Corporation site located at 36 Main Street E. The
                   one-acre abandoned landfill contains waste fly ash
                   from past electrical generation for the former textile
                   mill. The fly ash landfill is contaminated with heavy
                   metals. Grant funds also will be used to conduct an
                   analysis of brownfields cleanup alternatives and
                   community outreach.

                   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: Town of Ware Shoals,SC
                   (864) 456-7478

                   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)
EPA560-F-07-218

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