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 Brownfields  2006

  Grant  Fact  Sheet

           Downriver

          Community

  Conference,   Wayne

          and  Monroe

         Counties,  Ml

EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders 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
The Downriver Community Conference (DCC) was
selected to receive a brownfields revolving loan fund
grant. The DCC consists of 12 municipalities south of
Detroit in Wayne and Monroe Counties (combined
population of 475,078). The area's long history of
industrial and manufacturing activities has left behind
numerous vacant and contaminated brownfields
 Revo
 Grant
 $2,500,000 for hazardous substances
 EPA has selected the Downriver Community
 Conference for a brownfields revolving loan fund
 grant. The grant will be used to capitalize a
 revolving loan fund from which the Downriver
 Community Conference will provide loans and
 subgrants to support cleanup activities at sites
 contaminated with hazardous substances. Grant
 funds also will be used for cleanup planning and
 community involvement activities. Coalition
 partners include 12 communities in Wayne and
 Monroe Counties, Michigan.
 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: Downriver Community
 Conference, MI
 734-362-3477
 The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
 yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
 in this fact sheet are subject to change.
properties. The population in many of these communi-
ties has declined dramatically after the loss of indus-
trial and manufacturing jobs in the area. Some areas
have poverty rates as high as 31 percent, and some
cities experienced population declines as high as 53
percent over the last 40 years. The Michigan Depart-
ment of Environmental Quality's database of contami-
nated sites indicates that over 400 brownfields sites are
located within these communities. More than 70
percent of the City of Monroe's land area is occupied
                                              Solid Waste and
                                              Emergency Response
                                              (5105T)
                       EPA560-F-06-111
                       May 2006
                       www.epa.gov/brownfields

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by brownfields. In addition, brownfields in the area
contributed to contamination of the Rouge and Detroit
Rivers. Revitalized brownfields may be used for new
businesses, residential communities, schools, and
medical clinics. Brownfields redevelopment will bring
new life and economic activity to communities, and
protect the environment, especially near surface water
bodies.

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