/ O \ Brownfields 2000 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet
V MJ	Laurinburg,	NC
EPA Brownfields Initiative
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.
Background
EPA has selected the City of Laurinburg for a
Brownfields Pilot. Laurinburg was also selected to
receive additional funding for assessments at brownfields
properties to be used for greenspace purposes. The City
of Laurinburg (population 15,681) has an unemployment
rate of 5.4 percent, with 30 percent of residents living
below the poverty line. The Carolina Central Railroad
arrived in Laurinburg in the 1860s, fostering a brief
period of rapid growth for the town. The textiles industry
arrived in the area in the 1870s and remains a major
employer to this day.
Laurinburg experienced a 20-year period of economic
growth and expansion between the 1960s and the 1980s.
This expansion was the result of a national trend, as
industries moved into the union free and relatively
inexpensive southern "sun belt" from the northern "rust
belt." The expansion ended, and in the 1990s, it reversed
as industries moved elsewhere in search of
less-expensive labor. In the past 2 Vi years, the
community has lost at least 765 jobs and $8.6 million
dollars (to lost payroll). In addition, the Scotland
Memorial Hospital, sold to a developer 15 years ago,
remains vacant. Because it is near a residential
neighborhood and in front of an elementary school, the
community has set a goal to redevelop the site.
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 05/01/2000
Amount: $200,000
$50,000 for Greenspace
Profile: The City of Laurinburg will conduct site
assessments and prepare redevelopment plans for a
variety of properties with suspected contamination.
The city will use greenspace funding to plan the
development of recreational and park space at the
Scotland Memorial Hospital site and/or the Main
Street site.
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: City of Laurinburg,NC
(919)276-8324
Objectives
The Pilot intends to assess former industrial sites for
potential contamination and formulate redevelopment
plans. Using greenspace funding, a plan also will be
developed to turn the Scotland Memorial Hospital site
into a park. The City of Laurinburg plans to either target
sites for industrial redevelopment or to convert them
into greenspace.
Activities
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
•	Involving the entire community in decision
making;
•	Developing an inventory of available brownfield
sites;
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Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	MaV00
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•	Establishing economic development and
community priorities;
•	Conducting Phase I and/or Phase II
environmental site assessments on targeted sites;
•	Developing integrated redevelopment plans for
assessed sites; and
•	Developing plans for redeveloping the Scotland
Memorial Hospital sites and/or Main Street site
into recreation and park space.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet
been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this
fact sheet are subject to change.
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
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
Solid Waste
EPA 500-F-00-105
May 00

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