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 Brownfields  2007

  Grant  Fact  Sheet

       Wayne  County

           Brownfield

      Redevelopment

         Authority,  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 Wayne County Brownfield Redevelopment
Authority was selected to receive two brownfields
assessment grants. Located in eastern Michigan,
Wayne County (population 2,061,162) is a primarily
urban area that includes the City of Detroit. The
Detroit River borders the county and the Rouge River
flows through it. Detroit contains a federally desig-
nated Empowerment Zone, and is a federally desig-
nated Renewal Community. The legacy of abandoned
 Assessment Grants
 $200,000 for hazardous substances
 $200,000 for petroleum

 EPA has selected the Wayne County Brownfield
 Redevelopment Authority for two brownfields
 assessment grants. Hazardous substances grant
 funds will be used to conduct about ten Phase I,
 and five to eight Phase II environmental site
 assessments. Funds also will be used to perform
 three to five baseline environmental assessments
 and conduct community outreach activities.
 Petroleum grant funds will be used to perform the
 same tasks at 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: Wayne County Brownfield
 Redevelopment Authority, MI
 313-224-8422

 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.
industrial facilities and urban flight has left many of
the county's older communities economically
distressed. More than 2,000 brownfields, including
1,770 open leaking underground storage tanks, have
been identified in the county. The state has identi-
fied over 150 abandoned gas stations in Detroit
                                               Solid Waste and
                                               Emergency Response
                                               (5105T)
                       EPA560-F-07-189
                       May 2007
                       www.epa.gov/brownfields

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alone. The Rouge River and areas along the Detroit
River have been heavily contaminated by industrial
activities. The county has a 16.4 percent poverty
rate, and 48 percent of its residents are minorities.
Brownfields assessment will promote the eventual
cleanup and redevelopment of these sites, which will
foster the re-establishment of vibrant urban neighbor-
hoods throughout the county.

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