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Brownfields 2008 Grant Fact Sheet
Aiken County, SC
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 this 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 Aiken County for a brownfields assessment grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to conduct three to five Phase II environmental site assessments and support community involvement activities in the Graniteville, Vaucluse, and Warrenville communities.
COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION
Aiken County was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. Located in western South Carolina on the Savannah River, Aiken County (population 151,800) has a long industrial history. It was the location of the South's first large-scale cotton manufacturing plant and home to several textile mills and associated industries. A chemical release caused by a train accident in 2005 damaged buildings and machinery at Avondale Mills, originally the Graniteville Manufacturing Co., resulting in the mill's closure. More than 1,700 local jobs were lost. The county is targeting sites in the Graniteville, Vaucluse, and Warrenville communities (combined population 7,009) for assessment. Brownfields in these communities encompass more than 183 acres and include the former Avondale Mills site, a landfill, and wastewater lagoons. Brownfields assessment is expected to make the sites more marketable and facilitate their reuse. Reduction of blight associated with brownfields is expected to stimulate economic growth throughout Aiken County.
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.
EPA Region 4 Brownfields Team
404-562-8792
EPA Region 4 Brownfields web site
Grant Recipient: Aiken County, SC
803-642-2012
The information presented in this fact sheet comes from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. The cooperative agreement for the grant has not yet been negotiated. Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.