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Brownfields 2008
Grant Fact Sheet
Grand Rapids, 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 this 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. Additionally, funding support is
provided to state and tribal response programs through
a separate mechanism.
Community Description
The City of Grand Rapids was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants. Located in western
Michigan, Grand Rapids (population 193,083) is the
second largest city in the state. Though the city's
industrial sector experienced rapid growth during the
mid-19th and early 20th Centuries, industry began to
decline in the 1970s. Within the last decade, 15,000 jobs
have been lost, and the unemployment rate has climbed
to 9.2 percent. About 23 percent of the population lives
in poverty. This economic downturn has left behind
numerous abandoned and uncharacterized brownfields,
concentrated in neighborhoods with many low-income
and minority residents. The city plans to use hazardous
substances grant funds to assess brownfields in these
neighborhoods, and to focus use of petroleum grant
funds on sites in the GrandWalk project area, a pre-
Assessment Grants
$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the City of Grand Rapids for two
brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous sub-
stances grant funds will be used to conduct 10
Phase I and six Phase II environmental site
assessments. Petroleum grant funds will be used to
conduct up to 15 Phase I and 10 Phase II environ-
mental site assessments. Grant funds also will be
used to support community outreach activities.
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: City of Grand Rapids, MI
616-456-3431 (hazardous substances)
616-456-3681 (petroleum)
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.
dominately industrial and commercial area in the
northwest portion of the city. Brownfields assessments
will help identify environmental threats and are ex-
pected to help the city promote redevelopment.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA560-F-08-111
April 2008
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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