United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-01-323
April 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
<&EPA Brownfields Supplemental
Assistance
Charleston, SC
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other stakeholders
in economic redevelopment to worktogether in atimelymannerto prevent, assess, and safely clean up brownfieldsto promote
their sustainable reuse. Brownfields are abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial facilities where expansion
or redevelopment is complicated by real orperceivedenvironmentalcontamination.EPAisfunding: assessment demonstration
pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years, with additional funding provided for greenspace), to test
assessment models and facilitate coordinated assessment and cleanup efforts at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels;
and job training pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities
affected by brownfieldsto facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and preparetraineesforfuture employment intheenvironmental
field; and, a cleanup revolving loan fund program (each funded up to $1,000,000 over five years) to provide financial assistance
for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states, tribes, municipalities,
and communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods to promote a unified approach
to site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.
BACKGROUND
EPA has selected the City of Charleston to receive
supplemental assistance for its Brownfields
Assessment Demonstration Pilot. The Charleston
Pilot targets the city's "Neck" area, a 7.3-square mile
federal Enterprise Community (EC) located north of
historic Charleston and south of the closed Charleston
Naval Complex. Approximately 22,500 people live in
the 19 neighborhoods comprising the EC, where the
unemployment rate is over 10 percent and 40 percent
of families live in poverty. The median household
income is $11,095.
The original Pilot developed an inventory of 28 potential
brownfields sites, completed four Phase 1 and two
Phase II assessments, conducted community
involvement activities, leveraged private funds to
support project redevelopment efforts, and initiated
redevelopment planning for one property. The original
Pilot project identified more brownfields sites in the
EC than were anticipated and pointed to additional
activities necessary to facilitate redevelopment.
Supplemental funds are needed to expand the proj ect
to take advantage of local business and developer
interest in additional redevelopment opportunities in
the target area.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Date of Award: April 2001
Charleston, South Carolina
fp Amount: $150,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
additional brownfields in the
Charleston Enterprise Community
for development into a light
industrial parkfor manufacturing
and distribution.
Contacts:
Charleston Department of
Housing and Community
Development
(843)973-7285
Regional Brownfields Team U.S.
EPA - Region 4
(404)562-9966
Visit the EPA Region 4 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region4/wastepgs/brownfpgs/bf.htm
For further information, including specific Pilot contacts,
additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and
publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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OBJECTIVES AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES
Supplemental assistance will be used to generate
more detailed information on the sites in the inventory,
perform site assessments at additional sites, help the
city address environmental liability issues, and enhance
community involvement in the project.
The Pilot plans to:
• Review historical records for all EC properties,
developing a Geographic Information System (GIS)
andincorporatingitintothecityplanning department's
GIS, mapping key properties, and preparing a report
that will serve as a reference for future assessments
throughout the EC;
• Conduct Phase I and Phase II assessments of at
least three additional sites;
• Prepare redevelopment plans for four brownfields
in the federal EC; and
• Expand public involvement by creating abrownfields
web site, hosting a brownfields conference, and
holding two community-wide meetings to involve
residents in project activities.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Brownfields Supplemental Assistance Charleston, South Carolina
April 2001 EPA 500-F-01-323
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