Brownfields 2009 Assessment Grant
Fact Sheet
Aiken Housing Authority, SC
RECOUERY.GOV
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
February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into
law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The
Recovery Act is an unprecedented effort to jumpstart our
economy, and create or save millions of jobs. This law
provided stimulus funds to the Brownfields Program to
award grants to evaluate and clean up former industrial
and commercial sites. Under this law, EPA will provide
financial assistance to eligible applicants through four
competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving
loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants.
Community Description
The Housing Authority of the City of Aiken was selected
to receive three brownfields assessment grants. The
Housing Authority is focusing community-wide
assessment efforts on the unincorporated communities of
Graniteville, Vaucluse, and Warrenville in Aiken County.
Located in western South Carolina on the Savannah
River, Aiken County (population 151,800) was home to
the South's first large-scale cotton manufacturing plant,
known today as the former Avondale Mills site. In
addition to soil and groundwater contamination at the site,
a 2005 train accident resulted in a chlorine spill that
damaged the mill and affected the health of area residents.
The mill's closure in 2006 left more than 2,000 area
residents without jobs. There also are at least 15 large
brownfields that encompass more than 250 acres, more
than 35 aboveground storage tanks, and several
underground tanks in the three communities. Assessment
of brownfields, including the target site, will help identify
the contaminants that need to be addressed and enable the
Housing Authority to evaluate redevelopment options.
Assessment Grant
$400,000 for hazardous substances
(Recovery Act Funding)
$200,000 for petroleum (Recovery Act
Funding)
EPA has selected the Housing Authority of the
City of Aiken for three brownfields assessment
grants. Community-wide hazardous substances
grant funds will be used to conduct three Phase II
environmental site assessments. Community-wide
petroleum grant funds will be used to conduct
seven Phase II environmental site assessments.
Site-specific hazardous substances grant funds will
be used to conduct a Phase II environmental site
assessment at the 31-acre former Avondale
Mills-Gregg Plant property at 128 Marshall Street
in Graniteville. The site was used for textile
operations from 1846 until 2006. Grant funds also
will be used to conduct cleanup planning and
support community outreach activities.
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/was te/bf)
Grant Recipient: Housing Authority of the City of
Aiken, SC
(803) 663-6848
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
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA560-F-09-183
May 2009
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fact sheet are subject to change.
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