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                            Assessment
                            City of Laurens,  SC
BACKGROUND

EPA has selected the City of Laurens for a Brownfields
Assessment Pilot. Laurens (population 9,916) is a rural
community nearGreenville innorthwestern South Carolina.
Plant closings, including the  shutdown of the Laurens
Glass Plant, have tripled the city's unemployment rate in
the past year. With the loss of large industry and mid-size
farm operations, Laurens has been unable to maintain a
stable economy. As a  result, the majority of Laurens'
workforce now commutes to work in neighboring counties,
which are seeing their populations grow while Lauren's
population remains flat. Laurens' poverty level is 19.8
percent, 5 percent higher than the state average, and its
10.8 percent unemployment rate is more than double that
of the state. The median household income is $22,338,
compared to $33,325 for the  state.  The city's minority
population is nearly 44 percent, compared to 30 percent for
the state.

Laurens will focus on its downtown area for this Pilot. This
target  area includes  about 12 potential brownfields
properties covering more than  15 acres of abandoned
land. The Laurens Glass Plant, two mills, and a salvage
yard are among these downtown sites. They  once
represented a significant tax base, but the abandonment
and deterioration of these and other old commercial and
industrial facilities in the downtown area have deterred
investment in the area and contributed to blight. Developers
wary of purchasing these brownfields  have  instead
constructed new facilities on greenspace parcels outside
the incorporated areas  of the county.

OBJECTIVES

The city's objective is to revitalize the downtown area of
Laurens, which has been negatively impacted by the
closing of several industrial  sites in recent years. To
accomplish this obj ective, the Pilot will identify and address
perceived and real environmental issues associated with
abandoned  or underutilized properties  in and around
   PILOT SNAPSHOT
    City of Laurens,
    South Carolina
Date of Announcement:
May 2002

Amount: $200,000

Profile:  The Pilot targets
brownfields sites in downtown
Laurens in order to revitalize the
area into a viable business,
visitor, andshopping centerand
help return economic stability to
the city.
   Contacts:

   City of Laurens
   (864)984-3933
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA Region 4
(404)562-8661
        Visit the EPA Region 4 Brownfields web site at:
       http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf/index.htm

      For furtherinformation, including specific Pilot contacts,
    additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and
    publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
              www.epa.gov/brownfields

Laurens's downtown area. Pilot funds will be used to
inventory and prioritize potential brownfields; involve the
community in the inventory and decision making processes;
conduct up to five Phase I and three Phase II environmental
assessments; and complete risk assessments, cleanup,
and redevelopment plans  for two properties.

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ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

• Inventorying and prioritizing potential brownfields sites;

• Reaching out to the community to inform them about the
  proj ect and encourage their involvement in the inventory
  and decision making processes;

• Conducting Phase I assessments at up to five priority
  sites;

• Conducting Phase II assessments at up to three of these
  priority sites; and

• Completing risk assessments and developing integrated
  cleanup and redevelopment  plans for two  of these
  priority sites.

The cooperative agreement forthis Pilot has notyetbeen negotiated; therefore,
activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
                                                             Solid Waste            EPA 500-F-02-050
                                                             and Emergency         May 2002
                                                             Response  (5105)       www.epa.gov/brownfields/

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