Brownfields 2006 Grant Fact Sheet

Forest City, NC

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.

CLEANUP GRANT

$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Town of Forest City for a brownfields cleanup grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to clean up tetrachloroethene-contaminated soil and groundwater at the Florence Mill Redevelopment Project site, at 186 Mill Street. Grant funds will be used to remove and dispose of contaminated soil; construct a soil and asphalt cap; and install a passive vapor system, groundwater monitoring wells, vapor wells, and sampling wells.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Town of Forest City was selected to receive a brownfields cleanup grant. Located in Rutherford County, North Carolina, Forest City (population 7,548) relied on the textile mill industry for a stable economy for more than 100 years. When the Florence Mill closed in 2001, 362 jobs were lost and a nine-acre property in the heart of the downtown area was left vacant. In the past six years, Rutherford County, which is highly dependent on manufacturing jobs, has lost 5,800 manufacturing jobs. The Florence Mill is located in a census tract which has the highest poverty rate (50.8 percent) of any tract in the county. The site is contaminated with chlorinated solvents in soil and groundwater from former drycleaning facilities located on and adjacent to the property. The deteriorated mill site and contamination of the 35-acre Florence Mill Redevelopment Area as a whole have discouraged private sector investment. Once brownfields are cleaned up, the town plans to redevelop the larger redevelopment project area to include 56 residential condominiums, a restaurant, a movie theater, a performance pavilion, office space, greenspace, and the relocated Town Hall. Redevelopment of the Florence Mill, critical to the larger project, is expected to attract at least $16 million in private sector investment to redevelop the old mill buildings, create at least 100 permanent jobs, and generate increased tax revenues for the town.

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
404-562-8866
http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf/index.htm

Grant Recipient: Town of Forest City, NC
828-429-2466

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