Brownfields Redevelopment
Reverses Rural Downturns

By Kelly Novak, Research Manager, NADO Research Foundation

In 1985, Ware Shoals, South Carolina (population 2,579) lost more than 80 percent of its labor force when the central employer, a 27-acre textile mill, shut down. Like many South Carolina towns, it began as a textile mill village, placing the mill physically in the center of the community.

By 1998, after several property ownership transfers and superfund cleanups, redevelopment still had not occurred. The mill stood as an idle eyesore, possibly contaminated, structurally unsafe and a blot on the town’s riverfront landscape. This familiar scenario in rural America ultimately results in town centers that are brownfields, often becoming a local responsibility and the difference between economic sustainability or continued economic down turn.

Local Planning

Using local initiatives to revive the community’s economy, Ware Shoals made plans to redevelop the mill site. The county included the site into the land use agenda under their Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) and began considering purchasing the mill.

The 27-acre textile mill in Ware Shoals, South Carolina was in operation from 1906-1984.

Patricia Edmonds, Executive Director of the Upper Savannah Council of Government (Upper Savannah COG), the Economic Development Administration (EDA) funded district where Ware Shoals is located, commented, “Including the mill site in the CEDS was a great first step. It also acknowledges the site’s land use and historic value as an industrial era mill village, which broadens the project’s future funding eligibility.”

Acquiring Resources

In May 2000 Ware Shoals received an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Assessment Demonstration Pilot Program award of $200,000, to assess the site, test cleanup and redevelopment models and host stakeholder input sessions. Grant Duffield, Ware Shoals Project Manager said, “Getting the assessment pilot award was crucial for leveraging future funds, legitimizing the project and reversing almost 20 years of economic loss.”

Locally, just after receiving the assessment pilot award, the County Council allocated $50,000 over two-years for cleanup and encouraged the town to pursue taking ownership of the mill. Ware Shoals’ Mayor participated in the South Carolina Mayors Institute on Community Design 2000 to learn how to construct a redevelopment plan that will maximize tax base potentials and the community’s marketability.

In April 2001, Ware Shoals joined the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC) Clean Up Brownfields Coalition. Under the SC DHEC, Ware Shoals and seven other counties and towns were awarded an EPA Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Pilot totaling $1.35 million for financial assistance towards site cleanups.

The town worked with the Upper Savannah COG to obtain a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to finance the asbestos and lead removal. A second CDBG application is pending.

The State directed $500,000 of bond funds for environmental remediation. The governmental funds have helped Ware Shoals leverage $900,000 in private sector investment. Ware Shoals will also meet with the US Army Corp of Engineers to discuss water front restoration assistance. The mill’s demolition is 65 percent complete.

For More Information Contact: Patricia Edmonds, Upper Savannah COG 864/941-8051; Grant Duffield, Town of Ware Shoals, 864/456-7478; EPA Brownfields 202/260-4039; Dennis Alvord, EDA Brownfields, 202/482-4320.

Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields
Revitalization Act 2001

Signed into law in January 2002, the Act:

Authorizes $200 million for brownfields assessment and cleanup to states, local governments and Native American Tribes, starting FY2003.

Protects developers of brownfields in the case that additional contamination is found after redevelopment.

Site definition includes land contaminated by petroleum or petroleum products, a controlled substance as defined in the Controlled Substance Act or mine-scarred land.

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