Brownfields 2010 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet
               Whiteville, NC
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. In 2002,
the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields
Revitalization Act was passed to help states and
communities around the country cleanup and revitalize
brownfields sites. 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 Whiteville was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Located in southeastern
North Carolina at a strategic highway junction, Whiteville
(population 5,218) benefited from travelers passing
through the city to reach coastal beaches. Construction of
nearby interstate highways shifted tourists away from the
city. The main corridors are now riddled with blighted
and abandoned gas stations, auto repair shops, and related
businesses. In the past 15 years, the area"s economy has
been decimated by the loss of textile manufacturing jobs
and the reduced profitability of tobacco farming. When
the Georgia-Pacific plant closed in 2008, 400 jobs were
lost, further increasing unemployment and poverty in the
city. Nearly 40 percent of Whiteville residents are
minorities, and the 14.3 percent unemployment rate is
higher than the state and national averages. Brownfield
assessments will help identify threats to human health and
the environment and provide  information necessary to
increase site marketability.
                     Assessment Grant

                     $200,000 for petroleum

                     EPA has selected the City of Whiteville for a
                     brownfields assessment grant. Community-wide
                     petroleum grant funds will be used to inventory
                     brownfields sites and perform six Phase I and four
                     Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant
                     funds also will be used to conduct community
                     outreach activities and cleanup planning.
                     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: City of Whiteville,NC
                     910-642-8046

                     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-10-190
      April 2010

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