Hoke County Receives $400,000 to Assess Properties
By Kristen Long
Wednesday, January 21, 2009 Summary: Hoke County, North Carolina is the recipient of $400,000 in federal funds from the Environmental Protection Agency to assess brownfield properties across the county. In July 2008, Hoke County secured $400,000 in federal funds from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assess brownfield properties throughout the county. Brownfield properties, by definition, are properties whose development are being hindered by real or perceived environmental contamination. Other cities, towns, and counties throughout the country have used this program to turn blighted or vacant buildings and properties into thriving commercial businesses, residences, and parks.
Utilizing these EPA grant funds, the County will investigate environmental issues associated with properties potentially contaminated with petroleum and hazardous substances, such as former gas and/or service stations, dry cleaners, manufacturers or junk yards. Assessment is the first step towards the redevelopment of those properties. This is especially important and time-critical for Hoke County due to the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) initiative. The BRAC program will be relocating thousands of soldiers and their families to Hoke County over the next few years, which will in turn create a need for new businesses and services as well as an overall development scheme. The infill of brownfield properties will prevent further sprawl and help eliminate existing urban blight and potential contamination.
County officials are in the process of identifying properties that are located in key areas for redevelopment across the county, starting with a focus on regions targeted for development by the BRAC team. You can help this process by letting us know of any brownfield properties you think have a good redevelopment potential in your area. This can be done by contacting any of the project team representatives.
Over the project lifespan, Hoke County will be hosting a series of meetings and workshops where you can communicate which sites you feel should be redeveloped first as well as learn the basics of the brownfields project. The first meeting is scheduled to occur concurrently with the County Commissioners Meeting on February 16, 2009 at 7:00 pm at the Hoke County Administration Building. Additionally, during the redevelopment phase for certain properties, the County will be hosting planning meetings to determine what these sites should become – residential areas, commercial facilities, industrial buildings, or parks. Residents will be asked to share their vision of what should happen at some of these high priority sites, and how their vision may be incorporated into current redevelopment schemes.
By assessing potentially contaminated properties throughout the county, the risks involved in redeveloping the properties will be quantified. Through this process, property owners and developers will be encouraged to clean up these sites and put them back into productive use. The County is currently working with property owners, environmental contractors, citizens, and other partners to identify and prioritize brownfield sites. Once an inventory of potential sites has been completed, the County will assess contamination and create cleanup and redevelopment plans at high-priority sites.
The first Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) has begun as part of an expanded Environmental Assessment for a new Hoke County Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) which is planned to be constructed on former agricultural land with suspected pesticide and herbicide contamination. The WWTP and associated infrastructure is needed to support the expected growth throughout the county as part of the BRAC initiative. Results from this Phase I ESA will be made available at the February 16 public meeting.
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