S.C. cities receive funding for environmental cleanup projects

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The cities of Camden and Easley are each getting $300,000 in federal funding to clean up properties that are contaminated or polluted so they can be developed.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has selected 149 locations to receive the Brownfield Assessment and Cleanup Grants this year.

The City of Camden will use its $300,000 grant for environmental site assessments, the development of cleanup plans and community involvement activities, according to a news release from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. The site includes part of the city’s downtown district.

The City of Easley will use its $300,000 grant for environmental site assessments and the development of cleanup plans for a site in the downtown area. The funding is allocated for planning and design sessions and community outreach activities.

“We are targeting these funds to areas that need them the most,” EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in the release. “Approximately 40% of the selected recipients are receiving Brownfields grants for the first time, which means we are reaching areas that may have previously been neglected.”

The EPA estimates more than 450,000 brownfield sites — properties where environmental contamination may affect future use — exist in the country today. Through the Brownfields Program, more than 30,000 of those properties have been assessed and 86,000 acres of idle land have been redeveloped for productive use.

DHEC administers multiple environmental cleanup programs, including the statewide Brownfield Voluntary Cleanup Program, which assists developers in revitalizing S.C. brownfields.