Brownfields

Since 2000, the City of Greenville has received approximately $1.8 million from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) brownfield grants. These grants have helped ensure a healthy environment, and have been leveraged into more than $60 million in economic development and more than 176 jobs in the city. The latest grant was awarded to the City in 2014 in the amount of $400,000 to fund assessments and outreach for a three-year period. The City has completed this grant, and has recently been awarded an assessment grant for the 2018 - 2021 funding cycle for $300,000.

Why Brownfields?

Jobs, quality of life, and the variety of services available in our community are positively impacted when we identify and address Brownfields. Brownfields are properties where the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. Assessing, cleaning up, and reinvesting in these properties protects the environment and community health, reduces blight, and takes development pressures off undeveloped woodlands and farms outside the city.

Brownfields can be old gas stations, auto shops, dry cleaners, industrial sites – anywhere chemicals, solvents, fertilizers, and fuels may have been used regularly or stored. Spills of these chemicals into the environment may have gone undetected for years, but can be costly to clean up. While most of these sites pose little to no risk to the community, the potential for unknown cleanup costs can deter potential developers from turning these sites into something new to benefit the community. So, Brownfields may sit underutilized or abandoned for years, usually in districts that have not seen the growth and increase in value that nearby areas have experienced. They can cause blight as they fall into disrepair and bring down the desirability of surrounding property.

What You Can Do

Stay informed: The Community Connections monthly newsletter provides updates about the City's brownfields program. Subscribe to the newsletter.
Partner with us: Federal brownfields funding is awarded via a competitive grant process. To be successful, we need your letters of support, list of sites to be assessed, and workforce training and hiring needs.
Tell us what you think: Do you have questions about a possible brownfield in your neighborhood? Do you have a suggestion or comment to share about the Brownfields project? Your questions and comments will help us make the best use of the opportunities provided by this grant. For more information, contact Monique Mattison, Rebecca Edwards, or Ginny Stroud by phone at 864-467-4570 or email mmattison@greenvillesc.gov,gstroud@greenvillesc.gov, or redwards@greenvillesc.gov.

Carolina High School Brownfields Outreach Project

Rosa Byrd shared the history of Mayberry Park, a brownfield in the city.
City staff shared future park plans on the brownfield site.
City engineers explained the LID parking lot at A.J. Whittenberg Elementary School and the Kroc Center.
Environmental science classes tour Lake Conestee Nature Park, which is a brownfield site.
Students review a historical aerial map of Lake Conestee Nature Park.
The classes were excited about collecting soil and water samples.
Students observe plants and animals in their natural habitat.
The group enjoyed observing the park on one of the different learning docking stations located through Lake Conestee Nature Park.
The students collected water and soil samples from the Reedy River.
Students eagerly presented their report during the Brownfields Taskforce meeting.
Students from the environmental science classes were selected to present their Brownfield projects.

Brownfields

With an EPA brownfields investment of $58,400, the QuikTrip on Rutherford Street yielded an additional $4 million in capital improvements and 20 full-time jobs.

Why Brownfields?

What You Can Do

Carolina High School Brownfields Outreach Project

Brownfields Lesson Plan and Poster