At a duly advertised public hearing on Jan. 6 the Lenoir City Council heard staff and consultants describe a notice of intent to apply for two EPA brownfields grants: one cleanup grant to address remaining contamination and debris at the former Broyhill property the city owns, and an assessment grant to help local property owners and businesses understand contamination and remediation needs.

Radford Thomas (city brownfields lead) said the city is applying for both grants and opened a public comment period running through the grant deadline. Greg Eisenhower, vice president and principal geologist at Mid Atlantic Associates, told the council the assessment grant is nearly complete and the cleanup grant should be in draft within a week. Eisenhower said the combined grant awards would amount to roughly $1,000,000 in additional brownfields-related funding for the city and described cleanup alternatives that could include on-site beneficial reuse of inert debris to reduce hauling costs.

Eisenhower said the city previously used an Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) grant and a city match to remove a substantial portion of debris; he estimated the city spent about $550,000 removing roughly 7,000 cubic yards and that about 4,000'5,000 cubic yards of heavy debris remain. Using an on-site approach for inert material could lower disposal costs and make the property more attractive to developers.

A short public comment supported the brownfields work. The council closed the hearing and authorized staff to proceed with the grant applications and public comment process. No vote tally was recorded in the public minutes beyond the council's approval to apply.

Staff said the grants are intended to position the site for economic reuse and reduce barriers to redevelopment.