News Releases from Region 04

EPA Brownfields Funding Announced for Five Communities in North Carolina

Funding for brownfields assessment and cleanup included in President Trump’s Budget

ATLANTA – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) selected 172 communities across the country—including five in North Carolina—to receive funding for brownfield site revitalization to help local governments redevelop vacant and unused properties, transforming communities and local economies.

“EPA is committed to working with communities to redevelop Brownfields sites which have plagued their neighborhoods. EPA’s Assessment and Cleanup grants target communities that are economically disadvantaged and include places where environmental cleanup and new jobs are most needed," said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. "These grants leverage considerable infrastructure and other investments, improving local economies and creating an environment where jobs can grow. I am very pleased the President’s budget recognizes the importance of these grants by providing continued funding for this important program.”

The following communities in North Carolina were selected to receive grant funding for community-wide Brownfields assessment activities and cleanup planning:

• Burke County – $300,000 ($150,000 for hazardous substances and $150,000 for petroleum) focused on the Urban Corridor including Morganton, Glen Alpine, Drexel, Valdese, Rutherford College and Hildebran.

• Dunn – $300,000 ($182,250 for hazardous substances and $117,750 for petroleum) focused on the Abandoned Railroad Zone, Historic Industrial Zone and Spring Branch Road Corridor.

• Greenville – $200,000 for hazardous substances.

• Randleman – $300,000 ($200,000 for hazardous substances and $100,000 for petroleum) to include the development of a city-wide inventory of brownfields properties.

• Wilson – $300,000 ($200,000 for hazardous substances and $100,000 for petroleum) including the completion of endangered species surveys and cultural resource surveys.

View the list of the FY 2017 applicants selected for funding here: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-list-fy17-grants-selected-funding

Overview of the Funds Being Announced Today:

• $25 million to communities who are receiving assessment and cleanup funding for the first time.

• $17.5 million of the assessment and cleanup funding will benefit small and rural communities with populations less than 10,000.

• Recipients will each receive approximately $200,000 - $600,000 in funding to work on individual sites or several sites within their community.

• These funds will provide communities with resources necessary to determine the extent of site contamination, remove environmental uncertainties and clean up contaminated properties where needed.

Studies have shown that residential property values near brownfields sites that are cleaned up increased between 5 and 15.2%. and can increase property values within 1.24 miles of that site. A study analyzing data near 48 brownfield sites shows that an estimated $29 to $97 million in additional tax revenue was generated for local governments in a single year after cleanup. This is two to seven times more than the $12.4 million EPA contributed to those brownfields.

As of May 2017, more than 124,759 jobs and $24 billion of public and private funding has been leveraged as a result of assessment grants and other EPA Brownfields grants. On average, $16.11 was leveraged for each EPA Brownfields dollar and 8.5 jobs leveraged per $100,000 of EPA brownfields funds expended on assessment, cleanup, and revolving loan fund cooperative agreements.

About EPA’s brownfields program: https://epa.gov/brownfields

Successful Brownfields stories: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-success-stories

Connect with EPA Region 4 on Facebook: www.facebook.com/eparegion4

And on Twitter: @EPASoutheast