Mid-Atlantic Awarded Cooleemee Brownfields Project

Mid-Atlantic was chosen by the Town of Cooleemee to help implement their recently awarded $200,000 EPA Brownfields Assessment grant. The project will consist of conducting Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments, developing a clean-up plan, and consutling as the project moves through the North Carolina Brownfields Program.

The main cotton mill was constructed by Erwin Mills (DBA “Cooleemee Water, Power & Manufacturing Company” and the “Cooleemee Cotton Mill”) around 1900. A cloth room, dye house and bleachery were later added around 1905. In 1962, Burlington Industries acquired Erwin Mills and its Cooleemee plant. In 1993, Burlington demolished the old town square’s commercial buildings and by 1964 began construction of an addition to the mill on its northeast side. Cloth production ended in 1969 but smaller Burlington operations continued within the mill structure that included warp beam-making and dying under its Versatch Division until the early 1990s. The new and old sections of the mill structures are approximately 600,000 square feet on a property of 16.9 acres surrounding the mill. The Town envisions the mill being redeveloped with residential, retail, institutional and even light industrial uses.

"Mid-Atlantic Associates, Inc. has prepared SPCC Plans for various Department of Public Safety facilities ranging from single-tank situations to one of the largest maximum-security prisons in the State to the complete satisfaction of personnel at the units and Central Engineering. They have consistently exhibited thorough knowledge of State and federal rules governing both aboveground and underground petroleum storage, safe management practices, and environmental remediation compliance. Mid-Atlantic has shown a high level of responsiveness and its staff members have demonstrated their ability to work within any time constraint with a high level of professionalism."