United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-01-304
April 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
v>EPA Brownfields Supplemental
Assistance
Jackson County, Ml
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other stakeholders
in economic redevelopment to worktogether in atimelymannerto prevent, assess, and safely clean up brownfieldsto promote
their sustainable reuse. Brownfields are abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial facilities where expansion
or redevelopment is complicated by real orperceivedenvironmentalcontamination.EPAisfunding: assessment demonstration
pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years, with additional funding provided for greenspace), to test
assessment models and facilitate coordinated assessment and cleanup efforts at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels;
and job training pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities
affected by brownfieldsto facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and preparetraineesforfuture employment intheenvironmental
field; and, a cleanup revolving loan fund program (each funded up to $1,000,000 over five years) to provide financial assistance
for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states, tribes, municipalities,
and communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods to promote a unified approach
to site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.
BACKGROUND
EPA has selected Jackson County to receive
supplemental assistance for its Brownfields Assessment
DemonstrationPilot. Jackson County (population 155,000)
is located in south-central Michigan along the 1-94
corridor about 80 miles west of Detroit. The county
consists of 26 local governments, including the City of
Jackson. The city began as an agricultural town and
quickly developed into an industrial and manufacturing
community focusing on the automotive industry. When
the nation's economy changed during the late 1970s and
early 1980s, the county's industrial base fell apart as
plants closed, resulting injob loss, population decline, and
hundreds of vacant and abandoned industrial and
commercial properties. Today, service-related jobs
account for 62 percent of the county's employment, and
the county's per capita income is $ 12,556, approximately
half of that of the state.
The Jackson County Redevelopment Authority estimates
that there are more than 2,000 brownfields properties
county-wide. The Pilot targets several commercial or
industrial sites in the city's industrial corridor for
assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment. The Grand
J^iverbisectsthetargetedarea, offering opportunities for
riverfront redevelopment.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Jackson County, Michigan
Date of Award: April 2001
Amount: $150,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
commercial and industrial
properties in the southeast
quadrant of the County of
Jackson's industrial corridor
as well as surrounding
townships for environmental
assessment.
Contacts:
Jackson County Brownfield
Redevelopment Authority
(517)788-4455
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 5
(312)886-7257
Visit the EPA Region 5 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/
For further information, including specific Pilot contacts,
additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and
publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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OBJECTIVES AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES
Jackson County plans to create new jobs through
private investment that has been leveraged as a result
of the redevelopment of county brownfields properties.
To aid this effort, the county plans to provide financial
incentives available through its Brownfields
Redevelopment Authority and the state. Jackson
County plans to expand the use of the 100-site
inventory previously created by the Pilot. The Pilot
will use its inventory and preliminary economic analysis
ofbrownfields sites as tools to generate redevelopment
interest in these properties.
The Pilot plans to:
• Complete approximately 12 Phase I environmental
assessments and 10 Phase II environmental
assessments on inventoried properties;
• Conduct eight Baseline Environmental Assessments
(environmental evaluations which, when filed with
the State of Michigan, limit future owner or tenant
liability);
• Expand the community outreach programs designed
to identify brownfields sites for inclusion in the
inventory; and
• Educate stakeholders regarding redevelopment
options for Pilot area sites.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Brownfields Supplemental Assistance Jackson County, Michigan
April 2001 EPA 500-F-01-304
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