EPA to recognize Pelzer Heritage Commission as grant recipient

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The Pelzer Heritage Commission will be among seven South Carolina towns and agencies being recognized Wednesday as a recipients of a Brownfield grant.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator Trey Glenn will recognize the recipients in Clinton. The Brownfields grant investments for the seven communities total $2.2 million.

The Catawba Regional Council of Governments, along with the cities of Aiken, Clinton, Greenville, and Pickens were selected for brownfields assessment funding. The City of Greenwood and the Pelzer Heritage Commission were selected for brownfields cleanup funding,
The grants, funded by EPA’s Brownfields program, help recipients to conduct assessments and cleanups on Brownfields properties. The investments continue to provide communities with necessary funding to help revitalize America’s land, boost local economies and create jobs while protecting public health.

 

The Pelzer Heritage Commission was awarded $200,000 for hazardous substances cleanup. The grant funds will be used to clean up the former Upper Pelzer Mill located at the intersection of Smythe and Stevenson Streets. Grant funds will also be used to develop a community involvement plan and support community outreach activities.

The Brownfields Program targets communities that are economically disadvantaged and provides funding and assistance to transform blighted sites into assets that can generate jobs and spur economic growth. A study analyzing 48 brownfields sites found that an estimated $29 million 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 the cleanup of these brownfield sites. Furthermore, another study found that property values of homes located near brownfields sites that are cleaned up increased between 5 and 15 percent after cleanup.

In addition, communities can use Brownfields funding to leverage water infrastructure loans and other financial resources. For example, EPA’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund can be used, under certain conditions, to address the water quality aspects of brownfield sites and the assessment and construction of drinking water infrastructure on brownfields, respectively. EPA’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program may also serve as a potential source of long-term, low-cost supplemental financing to fund brownfields project development and implementation activities to address water quality aspects of brownfields.

List of the FY 2018 Applicants Selected for Funding:
https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/applicants-selected-fy18-brownfields-assessment-revolving-loan-fund-and-cleanup-grants

For more information on the ARC grants: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/types-brownfields-grant-funding

For more information on EPA’s Brownfields Program: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields

For more information on how brownfields restoration has positively impacted local economies and the quality of life for neighboring communities: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-success-stories