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  Brownfields  2007

  Grant  Fact Sheet

    Branch  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

Branch County was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants. The decline in manu-
facturing has weakened the economy of Branch
County (population 46,460), which is located in rural
southern Michigan. While 70 percent of the land in the
county is used for agricultural purposes, the loss of
over 16 percent of the manufacturing jobs in recent
years has rippled through the rest of the economy. The
unemployment rate exceeds the state average and is
much higher than the nationwide average. The major-
ity of the idle industrial facilities are in the more
impoverished areas of the county. Over 60 properties
with environmental contamination have been identi-
fied. Brownfields assessments will help the county
identify the potential risks to human health and the
 Assessment  Grants
 $200,000 for hazardous substances
 $200,000 for petroleum

 EPA has selected Branch County for two
 brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous
 substances grant funds will be used to identify
 and prioritize suspected brownfields, perform
 Phase I and II environmental site 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: Branch County, MI
 517-279-5104

 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.
environment and facilitate redevelopment. Redevelop-
ment will help preserve greenspace, especially prime
farmland, and provide much-needed jobs, affordable
housing, and a stronger tax base.
                                                 Solid Waste and
                                                 Emergency Response
                                                 (5105T)
                        EPA 560-F-07-020
                        May 2007
                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

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