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Brownfields 2006
Grant Fact Sheet
Kalamazoo County,
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
Kalamazoo County was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants. Kalamazoo County
(population 238,603) is located in southwest Michi-
gan, approximately midway between Chicago, Illinois,
and Detroit, Michigan. The county has a history of
agricultural and industrial uses dating from the early
1800s. Kalamazoo, known as a center for manufactur-
ing, was home to many paper mills, and pharmaceuti-
cal and automotive facilities. Mergers and closures in
these industries have left the county with numerous
abandoned factories and industrial sites, many along
the banks of the Kalamazoo River. A significant
amount of growth has occurred in the outlying farm-
lands of the county. Over the last 20 years, the county
Assessment Grants
$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected Kalamazoo County for two
brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous
substances grant funds will be used to inventory
and prioritize sites; perform Phase I, II, and
baseline environmental site assessments; prepare
site cleanup plans; and conduct community
outreach activities around the county. Funds also
will be used to address sites contaminated with
chemicals utilized to produce methamphetamines
and to conduct health monitoring for affected
populations. Petroleum grant funds will be used
to inventory and prioritize sites; perform Phase I,
II, and baseline environmental site assessments;
prepare site cleanup plans; and conduct commu-
nity outreach for sites with potential petroleum
contamination.
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: Kalamazoo County, MI
269-384-8304
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
has lost almost 35,000 acres of farmland, and the urban
cores of the county have been left with abandoned and
potentially contaminated properties. The Michigan
Department of Environmental Quality has identified 89
sites with hazardous substances contamination and 235
locations with petroleum contamination. Assessment
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA560-F-06-117
May 2006
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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and eventual cleanup of the county's brownfields sites
will help control or eliminate the threats to human
health and the environment, lead to new opportunities
for redevelopment, and alleviate development pressue
on county farmlands and greenspace.
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