EPA Announces $10.7 Million in Brownfields Grants for 19 Michigan Communities

20 April 2010 – Eighteen communities in Michigan will receive an estimated $10.7 million in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency brownfields grants to help assess, clean up and revitalize former industrial and commercial sites, turning them from problem properties to productive community use.

“Brownfields grants provide an assist to communities that are striving to turn neglected properties into new sources of jobs and economic activity,” said Bharat Mathur, EPA Region 5 acting regional administrator.

Communities in the EPA Region 5 Great Lakes states will receive 88 grants totaling $26,605,500. Nationally, communities in 40 states, four tribes and one U.S. territory will share $78.9 million in EPA brownfields grants.

Michigan’s 19 applicants selected to receive brownfields grants are:

• Allegan County (2), $200,000 hazardous substances assessment grant to inventory brownfields and conduct about 16 site assessments, and a $200,000 petroleum assessment grant to conduct assessments at properties with potential petroleum contamination. Local contact: +1 269 673 0378.
• Bay City, $1 million revolving fund grant to provide loans to support cleanup activities for sites contaminated with hazardous substances and petroleum. Local contact: +1 989 894 8159.
• Calhoun County, $200,000 hazardous substances assessment grant to inventory brownfields and conduct about 18 site assessments. Local contact: +1 269 781 9841.
• Cedar Springs, $200,000 hazardous substances assessment coalition grant to inventory brownfields conduct about 18 site assessments. Local contact: +1 616 696 1330.
• Clinton County (2), $200,000 hazardous substances assessment grant to inventory brownfields and conduct about 18 site assessments, and a $200,000 petroleum assessment grant to conduct assessments at about 15 properties with potential petroleum contamination. Local contact: +1 517 669 1345.
• Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority, $1 million revolving fund grant to provide loans to support cleanup activities for sites contaminated with hazardous substances and petroleum. Local contact: +1 313 331 3842.
• Grand Rapids (3), $1 million revolving fund grant to provide loans to support cleanup activities for sites contaminated with hazardous substances and petroleum, a $200,000 hazardous substances assessment grant to conduct about 18 site assessments, and a $100,000 petroleum assessment grant to conduct assessments at properties with potential petroleum contamination. Local contact: +1 616 456 3431.
• Grand Traverse County, $1 million revolving fund grant to provide loans to support cleanup activities for sites contaminated with hazardous substances and petroleum. Local contact: +1 231 922 4513.
• Lansing Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (2), $200,000 hazardous substances assessment grant to inventory brownfields and conduct site assessments, and a $200,000 petroleum assessment grant to conduct assessments at properties with potential petroleum contamination. Using both grants, more than 50 properties will be assessed. Local contact: +1 517 483 4140.
• Leelanau County, $1 million revolving fund grant to provide loans to support cleanup activities for sites contaminated with hazardous substances and petroleum. Local contact: +1 231 256 9812.
• Lenawee County, $200,000 assessment grant to assess potential petroleum contamination at about 26 properties. Local contact: +1 517 265 5141.
• Michigan Land Bank Fast Track Authority, $1 million revolving fund grant to provide loans to support cleanup activities for sites contaminated with hazardous substances. Local contact: +1 517 335 7810.
• Redford Charter Township (2), $200,000 hazardous substances assessment grant to inventory brownfields and conduct about 16 site assessments, and a $200,000 petroleum assessment grant to conduct assessments at properties with potential petroleum contamination. Local contact: +1 313 387 2785.
• Reed City Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (2), $192,000 hazardous substances assessment grant to inventory brownfields and conduct about 16 site assessments, and a $192,000 petroleum assessment grant to conduct assessments at properties with potential petroleum contamination. Local contact: +1 231 832 2245.
• Schoolcraft County (2), $200,000 hazardous substances assessment grant to inventory brownfields and conduct about 18 site assessments, and a $200,000 petroleum assessment grant to conduct assessments at properties with potential petroleum contamination. Local contact: +1 906 341 5126.
• St. Clair County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, $1 million hazardous substances assessment coalition grant to conduct assessments at about 80 sites contaminated with hazardous substances and petroleum. Local contact: +1 810 989 6950.
• St. Joseph County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, $200,000 hazardous substances assessment grant to conduct about 17 site assessments. Local contact: +1 269 467 5663.
• Van Buren County, $200,000 petroleum assessment grant to inventory brownfields and conduct assessments at about 25 properties with potential petroleum contamination. Local contact: +1 269 657 8234.

EPA’s Brownfields Program encourages cleanup and redevelopment of America’s estimated 450,000 brownfields sites. Brownfields are properties where expansion, redevelopment or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant. Grant recipients are selected through a national competition. Since the beginning of the Brownfields Program, EPA has awarded 1,702 assessment grants totaling more than $401 million, 262 revolving loan fund grants totaling more than $256.7 million and 655 cleanup grants totaling $129.4 million.

As of March 2010, EPA’s brownfields assistance had leveraged more than $14 billion in cleanup and redevelopment funding and 61,227 jobs in cleanup, construction and redevelopment. Environmental assessments have been performed on 15,135 properties and 458 properties have been cleaned up.

Additional information on the EPA Region 5 brownfields recipients and their projects is available at: http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/

Information on the national EPA Brownfields Program, including brownfields activities under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, is also available at http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/.