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  Brownfields  2008

  Grant  Fact Sheet

     Rocky Mount,  NC


EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders to work together to
prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. Abrownfield 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 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 Rocky Mount was selected to receive a
brownfields cleanup grant. Rocky Mount (population
59,893) is situated within both Nash and Edgecombe
Counties in northeastern North Carolina. It is a city
still struggling from  the aftermath of Hurricane Floyd
in 1999 and declines in the tobacco and textile indus-
tries. Fifty-eight percent of Edgecombe County
residents and 34 percent of Nash County residents are
African-American. The unemployment rate in
Edgecombe County  is 9.4 percent, and its poverty rate
is 19.6 percent. Cleanup of the former Planters Oil
Mill site is expected to allow the city to move forward
with a component of its revitalization plan to rede-
velop the mill site with a 72-unit multi-family housing
facility, a community center, and two playgrounds.
Cleanup Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Rocky Mount for a
brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances
grant funds will be used to clean up the former
Planters Oil Mill site at 1004 Cokey Road. During
World War II, the site operated as a fertilizer
processing facility and later was converted to a
soybean oil processing operation. The mill used
and stored hazardous materials on the surface and
underground. Contaminants of concern include
hexane  and metals.
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 at: www.epa.gov/
brownfields.

EPA Region 4 Brownfields Team
404-562-8792
http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf

Grant Recipient: City of Rocky Mount, NC
252-972-1101

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 negoti-
ated.  Therefore, activities described in this fact
sheet are subject to change.
                                                 Solid Waste and
                                                 Emergency Response
                                                 (5105T)
                        EPA 560-F-08-258
                        July 2008
                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

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