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Brownfields 2007
Grant Fact Sheet
Van Buren 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
Van Buren County was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Van Buren County
(population 77,235) is located in southwestern Michi-
gan on the shores of Lake Michigan. It is a rural
county made up of 29 small communities with an
agriculturally based economy. The county is a major
fruit and vegetable producer, which has attracted fruit
juice and canning plants to the area. In addition,
manufacturing facilities moved to the county to take
advantage of the plentiful water supplies from Lake
Michigan and the Black River. Many of these plants
have closed, leaving vacant and abandoned buildings
surrounded by deteriorating residential neighborhoods.
Agricultural land in the county is facing increasing
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected Van Buren County for a
brownfields assessment grant. Petroleum grant
funds will be used to conduct community out-
reach, inventory brownfields, and conduct up to
13 Phase I and up to eight Phase II environmental
site assessments.
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: Van Buren County, MI
269-657-8234
The information presented in this fact sheet comes
from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the
accuracy of this information. The cooperative
agreement for the grant has not yet been negoti-
ated. Therefore, activities described in this fact
sheet are subject to change.
development pressure from surrounding, more popu-
lous counties. To help preserve its agricultural lands
and economic base, the county is working to encour-
age redevelopment of brownfields that typically are
located in, or adjacent to, the downtown areas of the
county. Assessment grant funds will help the county
leverage public and private resources to redevelop
brownfields and preserve valuable agricultural lands.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA560-F-07-186
May 2007
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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