Last week, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy visited Spartanburg, South Carolina to tour the ReGenesis Project with State Representative Harold Mitchell Jr. and other local leaders. ReGenesis leveraged an initial $20,000 grant from the EPA Office of Environmental Justice into more than $270 million in revitalization, clean up, housing, job training, Federally Qualified Health Centers, and infrastructure.

Today, community health centers, affordable housing and a state-of-the-art recreation center stand because of the collaborative efforts of the Superfund and Brownfields programs, the federal Interagency Working Group on Environmental Justice, the community, and a host of local partners. At the core of EPA's mission is an unwavering pursuit of environmental justice because pollution and climate impacts are a barrier to economic opportunity, blocking the path to middle-class security.

With President Obama's leadership, EPA is ramping up efforts to cut air and water pollution, expanding public outreach, enforcing laws to defend public health, and holding polluters accountable. And through President Obama's Climate Action Plan, EPA is taking historic action to fight the economic and public health risks of a changing climate by cutting carbon pollution from power plants. Read more about more about my trip.  

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Ed Memmott, Spartanburg City Manager, explains to Administrator McCarthy how the local community came together to lead the clean-up and development of a new shopping area on the south side of Spartanburg. Dr. Heather Esquivel of ReGenesis Health Care center, leads Administrator McCarthy and State Representative Mitchell on a tour through the center now serving the local community.  Administrator McCarthy joins, State Representative Mitchell, EPA Regional Administrator Heather McTeer-Toney and South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control Director Catherine Heigel at the ReGenesis Health Care center in Spartanburg, South Carolina.Administrator McCarthy meets community leaders at the state-of-the-art C.C. Woodson Recreation Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina.  South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control Director Catherine Heigel speaks at the ReGenesis Collaborative Partnership Forum and Lunch hosted by Upstate Housing Partnership. Seated to her right is Kate Stanley with Rhodia Corporate Community-Relations.Administrator McCarthy gives closing remarks at the ReGenesis Collaborative Partnership Forum and Lunch. “Spartanburg is a shining beacon of what’s possible when folks impacted by community decisions have a seat at the table.”Administrator McCarthy bids farewell to Junie White, Spartanburg Mayor and is joined by State Representative Mitchell and Jimmy Moore, The BridgeTech CEO, after the ReGenesis Collaborative Partnership Forum and Lunch.Administrator McCarthy meets Natalia Rosario, a graduate student at Clemson University, currently interning in the Mayor’s office in Spartanburg. Natalia waited to speak with the Administrator about sustainability.

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