Brownfields 2006 Grant Fact Sheet

Dickinson County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, 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 GRANT

$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the Dickinson County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority for a brownfields assessment grant. Petroleum grant funds will be used to create a brownfields inventory and to perform Phase I and II environmental site assessments. Funds also will be used for redevelopment planning and a community outreach and education program.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Dickinson County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. Located in the south-central portion of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Dickinson County (population 27,345) has a history strongly rooted in extractive industries such as mining and logging. In addition, a major automotive manufacturing plant and chemical manufacturing plant operated in the county for many years. These activities have resulted in brownfield sites that occupy large tracts of land, including 61 underground storage tanks. Of the county's 184 potential brownfields, 92 are petroleum-contaminated. Many of these sites are in residential, commercial, and industrial areas. The county's per capita income is $18,516, and 9.1 percent of residents live below the poverty level. When brownfields are revitalized, they will become sites for new and expanding businesses. Brownfields redevelopment will spark economic redevelopment interest in underutilized properties, preserve greenspace, create jobs, and increase the local tax base.

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: Dickinson County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, MI
906-774-2002

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