Brownfields 2005 Grant Fact Sheet

Woodfin, NC

EPA BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic development 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 Woodfin for a brownfields cleanup grant. Grant funds will be used for site planning, remedy monitoring, and the installation of a passive gas collection system at the 96-acre Elk Mountain Landfill at 70 Old Beaverdam Creek Road. Funds also will be used for community outreach activities and health monitoring.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Town of Woodfin was selected to receive a brownfields cleanup grant. Woodfin (population 3,218) is located in the Appalachian Mountains in western North Carolina near Ashville. Historically, the town has been a working-class community comprised largely of industrial and service sector workers. The shift away from manufacturing in the region has had a disproportionate impact on the town's residents. The town has a higher-than-average rate of working poor, a lower-than-average per capita income, and nearly a 22 percent poverty rate. Within a 156-acre brownfield site is the target site, a former landfill that contains methane gas. Once the property is cleaned up, the town has proposed developing approximately 300 new single and multi-family homes on the site. Cleanup will ensure that methane gas will not migrate from the property into nearby neighborhoods, and allow the town to leverage public and private investment. Redevelopment will add to the town's tax base, increase property values, and lead to new construction and retail jobs.

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
404-562-8684
http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf/index.htm

Grant Recipient: Town of Woodfin, 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.