$1.2 Million in Brownfields Grants to Cleanup and Revitalize Communities in South Carolina (SC)
(Atlanta - June 6, 2011) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
announced today that it will award a total of $1.2 million in
Brownfields grants to three communities in South Carolina for the
assessment and cleanup of brownfields properties, including
abandoned gas stations, old textile mills, closed smelters, and
other abandoned industrial and commercial properties. Brownfields
are sites where expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be
complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous
substance, pollutant or contaminant.
The communities in South Carolina receiving Brownfields assessment and cleanup grants include:
· Charleston County, SC ($400,000 community-wide assessment grant)
· Community Environmental Company, LLC, Western SC ($200,000 cleanup grant for the former Avondale Mill, Granite Plant – Red Barn site, $200,000 cleanup grant for the former Avondale Mill, Gregg Plant, $200,000 cleanup grant for the former Avondale Mill, Warren Plant)
· South Carolina Regional Development Alliance, Fairfax, SC ($200,000 cleanup grant for the former Shaw Industries Property)
· South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control ($500,000 in supplemental revolving loan funds)
The Brownfields program encourages redevelopment of America’s estimated 450,000 abandoned and contaminated waste sites. As of May 2011, EPA’s Brownfields assistance has leveraged more than $16.7 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funding, and 69,700 jobs in cleanup, construction, and redevelopment. These investments and jobs target local, under-served and economically disadvantaged neighborhoods – places where environmental cleanups and new jobs are most needed. Cleaning up our communities is one of EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s priorities, which leads not only to health and environmental benefits but also economic development and prosperity.
In the Southeast, 26 communities have been selected to receive Brownfields grants to assess, cleanup and redevelop properties. Nationally, 40 states and three tribes will share more than $76 million in Brownfields grants. In total, EPA is selecting 214 grants through the Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup Grants programs:
· 114 assessment grants, totaling $32.5 million, will conduct site assessment and planning for cleanup at one or more brownfields sites as part of a community-wide effort.
· 13
revolving loan fund grants, totaling $13 million, will provide
loans and subgrants for communities to begin cleanup activities at
brownfields sites. Revolving loan funds are generally used to
provide low interest loans or subgrants for brownfields
cleanups.
· 87 cleanup
grants, totaling $17.2 million, will provide funding for grant
recipients to carryout cleanup activities at brownfield sites they
own.
EPA is also selecting 25 existing grantees to
receive $13.4 million in funds to supplement their Revolving Loan
Fund programs. Grantees will use this supplemental funding to
provide loans and subgrants for cleanup of brownfield sites in
their communities. Since the beginning of the Brownfields program,
revolving loan fund grant recipients have executed 205 loans and 85
subgrants totaling more than $113 million.
Since the beginning of the Brownfields
program in 1995, EPA has awarded 1,895 assessment grants totaling
$447.6 million, 279 revolving loan fund grants totaling more than
$273.1 million, and 752 cleanup grants totaling $140.8
million.
In 2002, the Small Business Liability
Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act was passed. The
Brownfields law expanded the definition of what is considered a
brownfield, so communities may now focus on mine-scarred lands,
sites contaminated by petroleum, or sites contaminated as a result
of manufacturing and distribution of illegal drugs (e.g. meth
labs).
More information on the FY 2011 grant
recipients: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields
More information on EPA’s
brownfields program: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields
Brownfields success stories: https://www.epa.gov/brownfieldssuccess/index.htm