Brownfields 2006 Grant Fact Sheet

Piedmont Triad Council of Governments, Central 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 GRANT

$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Piedmont Triad Council of Governments for a brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to conduct community involvement activities, inventory and prioritize brownfields sites, and perform Phase I environmental site assessments at sites in the Cities of Lexington, Eden, and Reidsville.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Piedmont Triad Council of Governments (PTCOG) was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. PTCOG serves a seven-county region in North Carolina. It plans to focus brownfields assessment activities in three cities: Lexington, Eden, and Reidsville (combined population 51,006). Historically, the economies of these cities depended on the tobacco and manufacturing industries, including textiles and furniture production. The decline of these industries has left behind brownfields, resulted in a dramatic drop in manufacturing jobs and tax revenues in the targeted areas, and increased unemployment rates. Eden alone lost almost 3,000 jobs from 1990 to 2000. The poverty rates in the three target cities range from 11.6 to 21.2 percent. The City of Lexington contains about 20 abandoned manufacturing plants, many next to or in the heart of low-income or minority neighborhoods. Brownfields negatively affect neighborhoods in these three cities by attracting illicit activity and inhibiting new economic growth. In addition, these sites adversely impact the area's 33 impaired streams and rivers. Once brownfields properties are assessed and cleaned up, they will be redeveloped in accordance with each city's growth management and land use plans. Brownfields redevelopment will attract capital investments that will create jobs, contribute to the tax base, and improve the quality of life for area residents.

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: Piedmont Triad Council of Governments, NC
336-294-4950

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