Brownfields Supplemental Assistance

PILOT SNAPSHOT
	Date of Announcement: May 2002 Amount: $100,000
Target Area: City of Wilmington, North Carolina Profile: This Pilot targets a 19-acre abandoned landfill adjacent to a disadvantaged, predom-inantly African-American community for redevelopment into public greenspace.

BACKGROUND

EPA awarded the City of Wilmington supplemental assistance for its Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot. Wilmington (population 90,000) is located along the Cape Fear River in southeastern North Carolina, approximately 130 miles south of Raleigh. The city used to be a busy international port exporting cotton, and was supported by the textile industry and small beach communities. As the textile mills relocated, the economy became service-based, supporting tourists, the movie industry, retirees, and students. Today, numerous abandoned former industrial properties litter the city's downtown riverfront, discouraging reinvestment in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods.

The target site for the supplemental assistance is the 19-acre Love Grove landfill, which is located within the city's brownfields target area. This abandoned landfill was once used as a dumping ground for household garbage. The city plans to use the supplemental funds to help transform this landfill into a public greenspace area. Proposed reuse alternatives include open space, trails, playgrounds, parks, gardens, and habitat restoration. Eighty-three percent of the 4,770 residents living in the Lake Grove neighborhood and surrounding areas are African-American, as compared to 30 percent citywide. Median household income in the target area is nearly half that of the citywide average. The assessment and cleanup of this unsightly landfill will provide recreational opportunities for nearby residents and help beautify a disadvantaged neighborhood.

OBJECTIVES

The original Pilot funding was used to complete an inventory of 70 sites and conduct environmental assessments at three priority sites. With the supplemental funding, the city's objective is to convert an abandoned landfill into a public greenspace area. To accomplish this objective, supplemental assistance funds will be used to conduct a Phase II environmental site assessment of the Love Grove landfill to determine the extent of contamination. This assessment will be conducted in two parts, the first of which will target "hot spots" in the landfill, followed by an investigation of the rest of the site. Supplemental funds also will be used to conduct community involvement activities and develop an integrated cleanup and redevelopment plan for the site.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

• Conducting community involvement activities;
• Conducting a Phase II environmental site assessment of the landfill; and
• Developing an integrated cleanup and redevelopment plan for the site.

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

CONTACTS

City of Wilmington
(910) 341-3258

Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA Region 4
(404) 562-8661

Visit the EPA Region 4 Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf/index.htm

For further information, including specific Pilot contacts, additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/brownfields