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Brownfields 2006
Grant Fact Sheet
Reed City 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 Reed City Brownfield Redevelopment Authority
was selected to receive two brownfields assessment
grants. Located in western Michigan, Reed City
(population 2,430) is the economic hub for Osceola
County. It has a diverse industrial heritage centered
around the timber and automotive industries, petro-
leum extraction and refining, and retail. As industrial
and commercial operations ceased production, the city
was left with deteriorated, vacant brownfields adjacent
to its older residential neighborhoods. The city has
about 40 petroleum-contaminated brownfields and 30
Assessment Grants
$192,200 for hazardous substances
$192,200 for petroleum
EPA has selected the Reed City Brownfield
Redevelopment Authority for two brownfields
assessment grants. Hazardous substances grant
funds will be used to assemble and enter identi-
fied and potential brownfields into the city's
geographic information system database and
distribute the database to potential private
stakeholders. Grant funds also will be used to
conduct 12 Phase I and up to eight Phase II
environmental site assessments, and develop up
to three cleanup plans for properties along a
transportation corridor, the central business
district, and other high priority areas of the city.
Funds also will be used to perform four cultural
resource assessments based on tribal history and
conduct community involvement 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: Reed City Brownfield Redevelop-
ment Authority, MI
231-832-2245
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
hazardous waste-contaminated brownfields. The pres-
ence of these brownfields has lowered property values,
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA560-F-06-120
May 2006
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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deterred redevelopment, and contributed to the leach-
ing of contaminants into area groundwater, the city's
only source of drinking water. Unemployment in Reed
City is nearly 50 percent higher than the national
average. The median household income is only 69
percent of the state median, and the poverty rate
exceeds the state rate by several percentage points.
Assessment and cleanup of brownfields properties will
help reduce the discharge of contaminants into the river
and groundwater and attract investment for redevelop-
ment. The city expects revitalization to include mixed-
use development and expansion of manufacturing
facilities that will bring new employment opportunities
and increase the city's tax revenues.
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