Brownfields 2005 Grant Fact Sheet Lake County, 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, 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. Addi- tionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism. Community Description Lake County was selected to receive two brownfields assessment grants. The county, with a population of 11,623, is a federally designated Enterprise Community. Its population is 11.2 percent African-American, and the median household and per capita incomes are lower than the state and national averages. In addition, 19.4 percent of Lake County residents live below the poverty level. The county's numerous brownfields include hundreds of small, unregulated, illegal dumps; ten leaking underground storage tanks; several dozen oil- and gas-producing wells; and 29 active and 52 closed underground storage tanks. There also are several sources of contamination from commercial and industrial operations, some of which have the potential Assessment Grants \2oos;| $200,000 for hazardous substances $200,000 for petroleum EPA has selected Lake County for two brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous substances and petroleum grant funds will be used to inventory approximately 50 brownfield sites, conduct Phase I and II site assessments, and implement community outreach activities in communities throughout the county. 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: Lake County, MI 231-745-2722 The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. to contaminate groundwater, the county's only source of drinking water. Brownfields redevelopment will revitalize the economic base of the county, and abate many health and environmental threats to the commu- nity. It also will reduce the exposure to contaminants of residents, and pollution of rivers and trout streams that flow into Lake Michigan. Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA560-F-05-187 May 2005 www.epa.gov/brownfields ------- |