These grants will help to renew former industrial and commercial sites, turning them from problem properties to productive community use.
“Cleaning and reusing contaminated properties provide the catalyst to improving the lives of residents living in or near brownfields communities,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “A revitalized brownfields site reduces threats to human health and the environment, creates green jobs, promotes community involvement, and attracts investment in local neighborhoods.”
“Brownfields initiatives demonstrate how environmental protection and economic development work hand-in-hand,” said Stan Meiburg, EPA Acting Regional Administrator in Atlanta. “This funding will help local efforts in transforming underutilized properties into community assets while providing a boost for the economy through the creation of green jobs.”
The applicants selected to receive Recovery Act funds are:
Aiken – $200,000 for the Avondale Mill Assessment along with $400,000 of community-wide assessment funds;
Columbia – $1.0 million in assessment coalition funds;
Applicants selected to receive brownfields general program funds are:
Central Carolina Technical College – $200,000 for the cleanup of the former Western Auto Site;
Dillon – $400,000 for community-wide assessment;
Greenville – $600K for community-wide assessment and cleanup of the Smart Property;
North Charleston – $400,000 for community-wide assessment;
Rock Hill – $200,000 for cleanup of the former Arcade Mill;
Spartanburg – $200K for the cleanup of the former Victor Mill;
The grants will help to assess, cleanup and redevelop abandoned, contaminated properties. Brownfields are sites where expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. In addition, the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act of 2002 expanded the definition of a brownfield to include mine-scarred lands or sites contaminated by petroleum or the manufacture of illegal drugs. Grant recipients are selected through a national competition. The Brownfields Program encourages development of America’s estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated waste sites.
