Brownfields 2006 Grant Fact Sheet

Reed City 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 GRANTS

$192,200 for hazardous substances
$192,200 for petroleum
EPA has selected the Reed City Brownfield Redevelopment Authority for two brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous substances grant funds will be used to assemble and enter identified and potential brownfields into the city's geographic information system database and distribute the database to potential private stakeholders. Funds also will be used to conduct 12 Phase I and up to eight Phase II environmental site assessments, and develop up to three cleanup plans for properties along a transportation corridor, the central business district, and other high priority areas of the city. Funds also will be used to perform four cultural resource assessments based on tribal history and conduct community involvement activities. Petroleum grant funds will be used to perform the same tasks at sites with potential petroleum contamination.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Reed City Brownfield Redevelopment Authority was selected to receive two brownfields assessment grants. Located in western Michigan, Reed City (population 2,430) is the economic hub for Osceola County. It has a diverse industrial heritage centered around the timber and automotive industries, petroleum extraction and refining, and retail. As industrial and commercial operations ceased production, the city was left with deteriorated, vacant brownfields adjacent to its older residential neighborhoods. The city has about 40 petroleum-contaminated brownfields and 30 hazardous waste-contaminated brownfields. The presence of these brownfields has lowered property values, deterred redevelopment, and contributed to the leaching of contaminants into area groundwater, the city's only source of drinking water. Unemployment in Reed City is nearly 50 percent higher than the national average. The median household income is only 69 percent of the state median, and the poverty rate exceeds the state rate by several percentage points. Assessment and cleanup of brownfields properties will help reduce the discharge of contaminants into the river and groundwater and attract investment for redevelopment. The city expects revitalization to include mixed-use development and expansion of manufacturing facilities that will bring new employment opportunities and increase the city's tax revenues.

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: Reed City Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, MI
231-832-2245

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