w5 PR Brownfields 2006 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet Greenville, SC 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 City of Greenville was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. Located in northwestern South Carolina, Greenville (population 56,002) plans to continue successful brownfields redevelopment efforts in the West Greenville/Reedy River corridor by conducting additional brownfields assessments. Approximately 40 percent of families in the West Greenville/Reedy River corridor live at or below the poverty level, and the corridor's unemployment rate is 12 percent. Minorities, primarily African-Americans, make up 66 percent of West Greenville residents. The abandonment of the city core has left the residents of the West Greenville/Reedy River corridor with little hope of economic prosperity. The city has identified more than 50 potential brownfields sites in the corridor. A number of large abandoned or underutilized industrial facilities are the remnants of a once profitable textile industry. Gas stations, drycleaners, railroad sites, and other commercial and industrial sites line the corridor. Assessment and eventual cleanup of the brownfields sites in the West Greenville/Reedy River corridor will protect public health and the environment and result in redevelopment opportunities, thereby creating jobs and reducing the unemployment and poverty rates in the community. Assessment Grant $200,000 for hazardous substances EPA has selected the City of Greenville for a brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to support health monitoring activities, conduct community outreach activities, and perform Phase I and II environmental site assessments in the West Greenville/Reedy River corridor. Grant funds also will be used to support cleanup and redevelopment 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 Greenville, South Carolina (864) 467-4495 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-06-088 May 2006 ------- |