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Brownfields
2009 Assessment
Grant
Fact Sheet
Concord, NC
EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders 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 February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Recovery Act is an unprecedented effort to jumpstart our economy, and create or save millions of jobs. This law provided stimulus funds to the Brownfields Program to award grants to evaluate and clean up former industrial and commercial sites. Under this law, EPA will provide financial assistance to eligible applicants through four competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants.
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances (Recovery Act Funding)
EPA has selected the City of Concord for a brownfields assessment grant. Community-wide hazardous substances grant funds will be used to conduct seven Phase I and four Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to perform cleanup planning and support community outreach activities.
Community Description
The City of Concord was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. Located 20 miles northeast of Charlotte, Concord (population 70,071) has a history steeped in textile manufacturing and related industries. These industries were scattered throughout "Center City," the targeted older portion of the city. Today, there are 243 potential brownfield sites in this nine-square-mile area. Dissolution of the textile-related industries has seriously impacted the city. The planned closure of the largest remaining manufacturer in the city, Phillip Morris, will result in the loss of about 2,600 jobs and $1.14 million in annual tax revenue. Unemployment and poverty rates in the target area are about twice the city's rates. About 29 percent of area residents are African-American, and 16 percent are Latino. The assessment of brownfields will provide the city with information about site contamination and is expected to attract investment in redevelopment projects.
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 (http://www.epa.gov/brownfields).
EPA Region 4 Brownfields Team
(404) 562-8792
EPA Region 4 Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf)
Grant Recipient: City of Concord, North Carolina
(704) 920-5142
The information presented in this fact sheet comes from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. The cooperative agreement for the grant has not yet been negotiated. Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.