Cowpens' Community Rallies 

Around Brownfields Site 

Cowpens, South 

The Town of Cowpens, South Carolina, is proving true the adage that 

small towns come together when there is a crisis. 

manufacturing plant closed in 1990, this town of 2,000 was faced with the 

loss of more than 400 jobs, as well as an abandoned building containing 

unknown amounts of contamination. 

strides toward revitalizing the site, as have interested parties by donating 

more than $225,000 worth of time and services to prepare the property 

for cleanup and redevelopment. 

The 228,000-square-foot clothing plant was once the largest employer in 

Cowpens. 

secured by an agreement between the county and the manufacturer's 

parent company to guarantee $10 million in industrial revenue bonds. 

When the parent firm sold the clothing company to a group of investors 

who shut down the Cowpens plant in 1990, the clothing company 

defaulted on the industrial revenue bonds, leaving the county holding title 

to the abandoned property. 

Inside the dormant facility, town officials discovered 85 drums of 

industrial chemicals, with no responsible party to pay for cleanup. 

Operations at the plant had also contaminated the site's groundwater with 

tetrachloroethene, a substance similar to dry cleaning fluid-and to add to 

the problem, the former plant is located between the town's elementary 

and middle schools. 

contamination prevented developers from buying and making any attempt 

to clean up and redevelop the site. 

To help the town address these problems, EPA awarded Cowpens a 

$200,000 EPA Brownfields Assessment Pilot Grant in May 1997; the 

town was one of the first small communities in the country to win such 

an award. 

services aimed at the revitalization of the abandoned plant. 

A national environmental cleanup company agreed to test the contents of 

the 85 drums and remove them from the site. 

the drum removal was performed free of charge in December 1997. 

This was just the start of many contributions from the community. 

local environmental company performed an asbestos and lead paint 

survey on the facility and estimated the costs associated with cleanup. 

This was approximately $25,000 worth of free service. A local roofing 

company conducted an evaluation of the roof, estimated to cost $5,000, 

Carolina 

When a baby clothes 

However, Cowpens has made great 

The clothing manufacturer purchased the site in 1981, 

Potential liability fears associated with the property's 

This funding has allowed Cowpens to leverage time and 

Estimated to cost $50,000, 

A 

Prior to its closing in 1990, 

a 228,000-square-foot, baby clothes 

manufacturing plant was the largest employer 

in the Town of Cowpens. 

parent firm sold the clothing company to a 

group of investors who shut down the facility, 

the company defaulted on industrial revenue 

bonds and left the county holding title to the 

abandoned property. 

town officials discovered 85 drums of 

industrial chemicals, with no responsible 

party to pay for cleanup. 

When the plant's 

Inside the dormant facility, 

JUST THE FACTS:
 • A national environmental cleanup company 

agreed to test the contents of 85 drums and 

remove them from the abandoned site. 

Estimated at $50,000, this removal was 

performed free of charge-the first of many such 

local donations to help restore the property. 

• Other leveraged services included an asbestos 

and lead paint survey, sampling and testing of 

the nearby creek, an evaluation of the roof, a 

video survey of the facility's sewer line, 

locksmith services, and environmental award 

money from the Lions Club. 

• EPA's Brownfields Pilot also leveraged funding 

from the University of South Carolina at 

Columbia, which provided $55,000 for technical 

services related to the design and development 

of a proposed Industrial Ecology Park on the 

70-acre site. 

• In addition, EPA Region 4 committed $2,300 

toward landscape design for the future 

redevelopment and $6,000 toward emergency 

response ground studies and an 

electromagnetic survey of the property. 

continued �
CONTACTS: 

For more information contact 

U.S. EPA Region 4 

(404) 562-8661 

Visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: 

http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/ 

also free of charge. 

video survey of the facility's sewer line, locksmith services, and environmental contest 

award money from the Lions Club. 

The Pilot also leveraged funding from the University of South Carolina at 

Columbia, which provided $55,000 for technical services related to the 

design and development of a proposed Industrial Ecology Park on the 70-

acre site. 

the $1,500 the town provided to initialize the Cowpens Development 

Corporation Fund. 

Study worth $5,000, and Clemson University conducted a Retail Business 

Survey worth $5,000; both free of charge. 

In addition, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expended approximately 

$40,000 to conduct a groundwater sampling investigation on the site and in 

the surrounding community where contaminated groundwater was believed 

to have migrated. 

design for the future redevelopment and $6,000 toward emergency response 

ground studies and electromagnetic surveying. 

All of these contributions were realized due to the dedication of the town leaders and the project 

leader. 

direct more of the EPA brownfields grant money towards the complex soil and groundwater 

investigations that were necessary at the site. 

plans was critical to the formation of the Cowpens Development Corporation and their taking title to 

the property. 

Department of Environment & Health Control to resolve issues related to the contaminated 

groundwater at the site. 

The town is hoping that its successful approach to this former manufacturing site can serve as a 

model for brownfields redevelopment in small communities across the country. 

Other leveraged services included sampling and testing of the nearby creek, a 

The town provided $27,571 in support of this plan, in addition to 

The university also provided a Baseline Economics 

EPA Region 4 also committed $2,300 toward a landscape 

By seeking out sponsors interested in providing services free of charge, the town was able to 

Leveraging cost estimates and future development 

Currently, the Centers for Disease Control is working with the South Carolina 

Brownfields Success Story Solid Waste EPA 500-F-00-254 

Cowpens, South Carolina and Emergency March 2004 

Response (5105) www.epa.gov/brownfields/