Brownfields 2004 Grant Fact Sheet

Land-of-Sky Regional Council, Western North Carolina

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, the President 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
$200,000 for petroleum

EPA has selected the Land-of-Sky Regional Council for a brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous substances funds will be used to identify, characterize, and prioritize sites; perform Phase I and II site assessments; develop cleanup plans; conduct community involvement activities; and assist local officials with health monitoring. Petroleum funds will be used to perform the same tasks at sites with petroleum contamination. The council anticipates assessing up to six sites.

REVOLVING LOAN FUND GRANT

$750,000 for hazardous substances
$250,000 for petroleum

EPA has selected the Land-of-Sky Regional Council for a brownfields revolving loan fund grant. Grant funds will be used to capitalize a revolving loan fund that will provide loans and subgrants to local governments and small businesses within the four-county Land-of-Sky region of western North Carolina for brownfields cleanup projects.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Land-of-Sky Regional Council was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant and a revolving loan fund grant. The Land-of-Sky region (population 353,230) encompasses four counties in the Blue Ridge Mountain Range in western North Carolina. The manufacturing sector, which 30 years ago accounted for 30 percent of the jobs in the region, today accounts for only 19 percent of the jobs. At the same time, the service and retail sectors have each grown by 35 percent. This shift has resulted in vacant and underutilized plants and facilities, increased unemployment, and the loss of high-paying manufacturing jobs. More than 12 percent of families in the region live below the poverty level. Cleanup and redevelopment of the brownfields sites will help the region preserve its natural resources, restore its historic and cultural sites, and attract business and industry to the area, resulting in an increase in tourism revenues, jobs, and tax revenues. The council also expects that this project will help foster the revitalization of adjacent properties.

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
404-562-8493
http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf/index.htm

Grant Recipient: Land-of-Sky Regional Council, NC
(828) 251-6622

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