Brownfields 2006 Grant Fact Sheet

Arenac County, MI

EPA BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders 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 Arenac County for two brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to create an inventory of sites; perform Phase I, II, and baseline environmental site assessments; and conduct community outreach activities throughout Arenac County. Petroleum grant funds will be used to perform the same tasks at sites throughout the county with potential petroleum contamination.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

Arenac County was selected to receive two brownfields assessment grants. Arenac County (population 17,269) is a rural community located in the east central portion of Michigan's lower peninsula and on the Saginaw Bay of Lake Huron. The county has vast water resources with three major river systems and approximately 47 miles of shoreline. Although the manufacturing sector generates the second highest revenue for the county, it does not provide enough jobs to support the community. About 48 percent of the county's land area is used for agricultural purposes. The county is dependent on its agricultural, tourism, and recreational industries for revenue generation. The per capita income in the county is 26 percent less than the state per capita. Over the last five years, the unemployment rate in the county has been significantly higher than both the state and national rates. Many brownfields are located along rural roads and in the small, developed areas of the county. They include unregulated dumps, junkyards, machine shops, agriculture-related sites, abandoned gas stations, and small manufacturing shops. In addition, there are more than 1,000 oil and gas exploration and production wells around the county that were drilled prior to the promulgation of strict environmental regulations. These sites pose potential threats to the groundwater and natural resources of the county. Assessment and eventual cleanup of brownfields properties will help protect the health of area residents who rely on groundwater for drinking, preserve the waterways and natural resources that help attract tourism to the area, and safeguard the productive agricultural lands of the region.

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: Arenac County, MI
989-846-4111

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