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Brownfields 2006
Grant Fact Sheet
Alpena, 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 City of Alpena was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants. Located in northeast
Michigan, where the Thunder River discharges to
Thunder Bay, Alpena (population 11,304) has been a
center for the lumber industry since its first pulp and
paper mills were built in the late 19th Century. The
city's waterfront gave the industry easy access to
shipping and water for processing. It served as a draw
for other industries, including cement and gypsum
producers, to locate there. While industrial activities
still exist at the waterfront, many operations have
closed over the past 25 years, leaving behind vacant
and abandoned properties. A search of state and
federal sources has identified 78 known contaminated
sites in Alpena. The city and surrounding county have
not experienced the population growth or relative
Assessment Grants
$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the City of Alpena for two
brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous
substances grant funds will be used to conduct
community outreach, inventory and prioritize
sites, perform up to 20 Phase I and ten Phase II
environmental site assessments, and develop
baseline environmental assessments and redevel-
opment plans for selected sites around the city.
Petroleum grant funds will be used for the same
tasks at petroleum sites.
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: City of Alpena, MI
989-354-1700
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
economic prosperity of other northern Michigan
communities. Since 1990, the city has lost over two
percent of its population, and the median household
income is only 68 percent of the state median. The
brownfields and other industrial sites along the water-
front are impediments to the city's plan to develop a
mixed-use, walkable, vibrant downtown with a strong
linkage to the waterfront. Assessment and eventual
cleanup of these brownfields properties will enable
Alpena to continue its efforts to convert a brownfields
area into a tourist destination with recreational and
retail space that will create jobs for area residents.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA560-F-06-104
May 2006
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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