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Brownfields 2006 Cleanup Grant Fact Sheet
Forest City, 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. On
January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed
into law the Small Business Liability Relief and
Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields
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 Town of Forest City was selected to receive a
brownfields cleanup grant. Located in Rutherford
County, North Carolina, Forest City (population 7,548)
relied on the textile mill industry for a stable economy
for more than 100 years. When the Florence Mill closed
in 2001, 362 jobs were lost and a nine-acre property in
the heart of the downtown area was left vacant. In the
past six years, Rutherford County, which is highly
dependent on manufacturing jobs, has lost 5,800
manufacturing jobs. The Florence Mill is located in a
census tract which has the highest poverty rate (50.8
percent) of any tract in the county. The site is
contaminated with chlorinated solvents in soil and
groundwater from former drycleaning facilities located
on and adjacent to the property. The deteriorated mill
site and contamination of the 3 5-acre Florence Mill
Redevelopment Area as a whole have discouraged
private sector investment. Once brownfields are cleaned
up, the town plans to redevelop the larger
redevelopment project area to include 56 residential
condominiums, a restaurant, a movie theater, a
performance pavilion, office space, greenspace, and the
relocated Town Hall. Redevelopment of the Florence
Mill, critical to the larger project, is expected to attract
at least $16 million in private sector investment to
redevelop the old mill buildings, create at least 100
Cleanup Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Town of Forest City for a
brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances
grant funds will be used to clean up
tetrachloroethene-contaminated soil and
groundwater at the Florence Mill Redevelopment
Project site, at 186 Mill Street. Grant funds will be
used to remove and dispose of contaminated soil;
construct a soil and asphalt cap; and install a passive
vapor system, groundwater monitoring wells, vapor
wells, and sampling wells.
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/waste/bf)
Grant Recipient: Town of Forest City,NC
(828) 429-2466
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)
EPA 560-F-06-079
May 06

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permanent jobs, and generate increased tax revenues for
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