Brownfields 2005 Grant Fact Sheet

Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, L'Anse Indian Reservation, 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 the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community for two brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to conduct Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments, and perform community outreach activities. Petroleum funds will be used to conduct the same tasks at sites with potential petroleum contamination. All sites targeted for assessment are located in the counties of Baraga and Marquette in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) was selected to receive two brownfields assessment grants. The KBIC, the second largest tribe in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, is located on the L'Anse Indian Reservation. The reservation is located primarily within Baraga County, with small parcels in Marquette and Ontonagon Counties. The total population of the three counties is 80,969. There are 3,208 enrolled members of the KBIC, of which more than 800 live on or near the reservation and another 800 live in Baraga and the adjacent counties. Although Baraga's economy has benefitted from the success of the Keweenaw Bay gaming activities, the unemployment rate for tribal members living on the reservation is still more than 19 percent. The Tribal Employee Office documents a 28 percent rate of unemployment. Twenty-eight percent of KBIC households live below the poverty level, and only 30 percent have high school diplomas. Assessment of the area's brownfields sites will help the KBIC address the potential contamination of its natural resources, including its drinking water supply, and the associated health risks. It also will help the KBIC achieve the goals of its Integrated Resource Management Plan by helping prevent future pollution on tribal properties and providing a first step toward cleanup and reuse.

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: Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, MI
906-524-5757, ext. 18

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