Brownfields 2003 Grant Fact Sheet

Farmville, NC

EPA BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic development 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.

ASSESSMENT GRANT

$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Town of Farmville for a brownfields assessment grant. Grant funds will be used primarily for assessment of a site that was formerly used for metal fabrication and for the manufacture of compounds used in superconducting magnets for computers, auto electronics, and medical equipment. The assessment will include investigation of soil, groundwater, and structures on the site for contaminants. Grant funds also will be used for remedial design, community involvement, and reuse planning.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Town of Farmville was selected to receive an assessment grant. This town of approximately 4,300 residents is located in eastern North Carolina, which is economically depressed due to job losses resulting from plant closings and relocations. Nearly 15 percent of Farmville residents have incomes below the poverty level. The target site is within a designated Community Development Block Grant area where nearly 100 percent of residents are African American. The assessment of the target site will allow community leaders and the town to develop a cleanup plan for the site, thus enabling redevelopment and reuse projects to move forward at the site and on adjacent properties. This includes construction of a planned church-supported community center for at-risk children, which has been delayed because of fears that children would be exposed to contamination and risk of injury at the nearby target 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 at: www.epa.gov/brownfields.

EPA Region 4 Brownfields Team
404-562-8661
http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf/index.htm

Grant Recipient: Town of Farmville, NC
252-753-6700

Prior to receipt of these funds in fiscal year 2003, the Town of Farmville has not received brownfields grant funding.

The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.