Town Secures $200K in Grant Funds!

By Kristen H. Long
Saturday, February 10, 2007

Summary:

In March 2006, the Town of Pembroke secured a $200,000 Brownfields Assessment grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to assess the level of petroleum contamination at multiple sites throughout the Town. Other cities and towns throughout the U.S. have used this program to turn dilapidated buildings into new parks, businesses, and residences. You can help by letting us know of any abandoned or underutilized sites in your area. Please contact: Kristen H. Long, Concurrent Technologies Corporation, Brownfields Project Manager at (800) 846-6001 or longk@ctc.com or Dr. Freda Porter, Porter Scientific, Inc.,President at(910) 521-0549 or fporter@porterscientific.com Recommended sites may be thought or known to be contaminated with petroleum substances, such as leaking underground storage tanks from former gas and/or service stations. Please feel free to submit information on any site that impacts your neighborhood. Over the project lifespan, the Town of Pembroke, will be hosting a series of meetings and workshops where you can communicate which sites you feel should be assessed and/or redeveloped first, as well as learn the basics of the brownfields project. The first workshop, the Southeastern North Carolina Brownfields and Land Revitalization Workshop is scheduled to occur on August 7, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. at the University of North Carolina, Pembroke, Regional Center. By assessing potentially contaminated properties throughout the region, the Town is quantifying the risks involved in redeveloping the properties. Through this process, property owners and developers will be encouraged to clean up these sites and put them back into productive use. The Town requests your assistance in identifying and prioritizing brownfield sites. Once an inventory of potential sites has been completed, the Town assess contamination and create cleanup and redevelopment plans at high-priority sites, as funding allows. Two Phase I Environmental Site Assessments have been initiated at properties in Pembroke; the Lumbee Drive End Lift Station and the Sheff's Seafood Property. These assessments are not completed yet, however it is anticipated that additional environmental assessments will be recommended. More information about the grant is available on the project web site www.ctcbrownfields.com/pembroke or by visiting the EPA grant program site at: www.epa.gov/brownfields.