Brownfields 2006 Grant Fact Sheet

Land-of-Sky Regional Council, Western North Carolina

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.

ASSESSMENT GRANTS

$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the Land-of-Sky Regional Council for two brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous substances and petroleum grant funds will be used to identify, characterize, and prioritize properties and perform from four to six Phase I and II environmental site assessments for both hazardous substances and petroleum sites. Funds also will be used for cleanup planning and design and community involvement activities.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Land-of-Sky Regional Council was selected to receive two brownfields assessment grants. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountain Range of the Appalachian Mountains in western North Carolina, the Council encompasses four counties: Buncombe, Henderson, Madison, and Transylvania (combined population 344,472). The region has become a popular destination for tourists and retirees, and population growth threatens the region's natural capital, while rural economic distress and loss of high-paying jobs create pressure to accommodate development. In the past 30 years, manufacturing employment has dropped, resulting in vacant and underutilized plants and facilities. The region has 1,015 underground storage tanks, and at least another 50 contaminated sites. The average wage in the region is lower than the state and national averages, and 13.2 percent of residents live in poverty. The revitalized brownfields will be part of larger development and community plans to catalyze revitalization of blighted areas. Brownfields redevelopment will attract and maintain high-paying jobs, expand the tax base, reduce sprawl, create greenspace, and improve soil, air, and water quality.

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: 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.