Brownfields 2005 Grant Fact Sheet

Kent County, MI

EPA BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic development to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the Brownfields Law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through four competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.

ASSESSMENT GRANTS

$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected Kent County for two brownfields assessment grants. Grant funds will be used to conduct remedial investigation in order to determine the extent of hazardous substances and petroleum contamination within the Millennium Park greenway preservation and redevelopment project. To date, Kent County has conducted 44 Phase I and II environmental site assessments covering 1,216 acres of the park.

CLEANUP GRANTS

$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected Kent County for two brownfields cleanup grants. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to implement the remedial action plan at the Grandville Dump site at 4050 Indian Mounds Drive. Previous investigations have indicated the presence of heavy metals and petroleum contamination in soils and chlorinated organic compounds in water. Petroleum grant funds will be used for the proper abandonment of priority oil well casings on the Millennium Park site. Petroleum-related oil well casings and soil contamination are a result of historical oil drilling and temporary storage and transfer of crude oil on the site.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

Kent County was selected to receive two brownfields assessment grants and two cleanup grants. In 1999, Kent County (population 590,417) began developing Millennium Park, a 1,500-acre urban greenway preservation and redevelopment project within four west Michigan cities, including Grand Rapids. Dating back to the 1840s, much of the Millennium Park property has been used for industrial and mining activities. Streams, wetlands, floodplain, forest, the Hopewell Indian Mounds, and 119 acres of lakes exist within the park boundaries alongside land scarred by past industrial, landfill, and mining operations. While the existence of contamination on some of these properties has been confirmed, the extent to which these properties have been impacted remains undetermined. Once assessments and cleanups are completed, Millennium Park will be one of the largest urban parks in the country. Large areas of the park will be devoted to protecting habitat for native plants and wildlife, all within walking or biking distance of four cities. The master plan includes a variety of educational and recreational centers, picnic areas, sculptures, a memorial, meadows, and trails. Preserving greenspace to enhance the quality of life for county residents is a critical component of Kent County's efforts to attract new employers and investment to the area.

CONTACTS

For further information, including specific grant contacts, additional grant information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/brownfields.

EPA Region 5 Brownfields Team
312-886-7576
http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/

Grant Recipient: Kent County, MI
616-336-2177

The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.