HI
                           C3
 Brownfields  2004

  Grant  Fact Sheet

        Bridgeport,  Ml




EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders in economic development
to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up,
and sustainably reuse brownfields. Abrownfield 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, the President
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 pro-
grams through a separate mechanism.

Community Description

The Bridgeport Charter Township was selected to
receive a brownfields assessment grant. Bridgeport,
population 11,709, is a small community along the Dixie
Highway travel corridor near Saginaw. In the past,
much of the township's industrial and commercial base
focused on supporting the automotive industry and its
employees. The decline of the township's economy is
directly related to the decline of the automobile industry
in the area. In the last decade, the population of
Bridgeport had dropped by more than eight percent,
and many of the remaining employed residents have
long commutes to reach their jobs. In the  neighbor-
hoods where most of the potential brownfields are
located, the minority populations exceed 40 percent,
and poverty rates approach 25  percent. This project is
  Assessment Grant
  $200,000 for petroleum

  EPA has selected the Bridgeport Charter Town-
  ship for a brownfields assessment grant. Grant
  funds will be used to perform one site assessment
  on a property known to have underground storage
  tanks. In addition to assessment activities, reuse
  planning at petroleum-contaminated sites and a
  community-wide brownfields inventory will be
  performed.
  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: Bridgeport, MI
  989-777-0940

  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
expected to help Bridgeport move forward with
economic recovery, and to serve as a catalyst in
reversing the community's negative image.
                                                 Solid Waste and
                                                 Emergency Response
                                                 (5105T)
                        EPA560-F-04-112
                        June 2004
                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

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