In December 2006, the CTC Community and Economic Development (CED) team, based in Columbia, South Carolina, assisted 17 communities with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields Grant applications.  In total, the CED team assisted in the submission of 24 applications. In May 2007, the EPA announced that 13 of the 24 applications would be funded, representing a 54 percent success rate for the CED team in a highly competitive process (the overall national rate was approximately 33 percent).  As a result of the team’s efforts, nine communities will receive a total of $2.6 million to assess, remediate, and redevelop environmentally contaminated properties that currently blight their community.  

When the EPA announced the available grants in late October 2006, the CED team, led by Joe Morici, Manager, Community and Economic Development, worked diligently to write applications that were responsive to the EPA's criteria and addressed the client community needs in a compelling manner.  The team's hard work paid off for the communities, with four communities winning two grants and five other communities winning one grant.  CTC was responsible for authoring all four of the successful applications awarded to the state of South Carolina, and five of the six successful applications awarded to the state of Georgia.  The team’s success rate of 68 percent (13 of 19 applications) in EPA Region IV is a significant achievement.

CED team members include:

Erika Brandenburg, Project Engineer, Technology Solutions
Josh Bowers, Environmental Geologist, Sustainability Programs
Angie Degory, Technology Analyst, Infrastructure, Sustainability, and Improvements
Mike Jensen, Staff Member, Community and Economic Development
Kristen Long, Environmental Specialist, Community and Economic Development
Joe Morici, Manager, Community and Economic Development
Renae (Hastings) Peckham, Research Analyst, Community and Economic Development
Letitia Savage, Program Outreach Coordinator, NDCEE
David Sykes, Environmental Scientist, Community and Economic Development
Chuck Tomljanovic, Environmental Analyst, Technology Demonstration and Integration

Background
Brownfields are defined as real property—the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.  Brownfields, such as abandoned and underutilized textile mills, gas stations, factories, and warehouses, blight large and small communities across the country, crippling local economic development efforts.  The redevelopment of these properties is often hampered by real or perceived environmental contamination.  Since 1995, the EPA has taken an active role in addressing the problem of brownfields in America’s communities.  The agency provides a range of funding programs for environmental assessment and cleanup activities to local governments.  When combined with other incentives and resources, these grant programs become powerful tools for local governments to lead redevelopment efforts in their communities. 

The CED team partners with both rural communities and large cities to identify and secure the funds needed to develop brownfields programs.  The process begins with meeting with the communities to identify their needs, the applicability of the program, evaluating potential existing brownfields in the community, facilitating a public hearing on the application, and above all, developing a strong working relationship with the client community.  The CED team works with local governments to gather community input, identify sites, assess contamination, prepare remediation plans, and redevelop brownfield properties.

The team uses innovative approaches to facilitate the redevelopment and reuse of brownfield properties by partnering with government agencies and private organizations to clean up site contamination, protect human health and the environment, and revitalize properties.  Such approaches leverage government programs, such as the U.S. EPA Brownfields grants, to return a facility to productive use quickly and safely.

The team's strengths in redevelopment and remediation come from a combination of experience, resources, and technology.  In addition, the experienced and motivated CED team has established partnerships and alliances with government agencies, developers, and environmental remediation firms to enhance its capabilities.

Over the past eight years, the CED team has partnered with: Atlanta, Brunswick, Camden County, Greensboro, Harlem, Hinesville, Jefferson County, Louisville, Moultrie, Savannah, Tifton, and Washington, Georgia; Aiken County, Catawba Regional Council of Governments, Cowpens, Charleston, Columbia, Florence, Greenville, Hampton, Laurens, Sumter, and Ware Shoals, South Carolina; Durham, Laurinburg, Navassa, Pembroke, Robeson County, Sanford, and Wilmington, North Carolina; and Altoona-Blair County, Cambria County, Somerset County, Carbondale, Ford City, and Scranton, Pennsylvania on their U.S. EPA Brownfields Assessment efforts.  The team has also managed three Brownfields Job Training Grants in Charleston and Greenville, South Carolina, and Southeastern, North Carolina.

The CED team identified these communities through previous or existing clients and networking within the brownfields community.  The CED team has earned a respected reputation in the southeast brownfields community, and the recent success will only strengthen that reputation and lead to greater success.

For More Information
For more information, contact Joe Morici at 803-929-6062, moricij@ctc.com; or David Sykes at 803-929-6063, sykesd@ctc.com.