5
o
T>
Brownfields 2008
Grant Fact Sheet
Otsego 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 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 Otsego County Brownfield Redevelopment
Authority was selected to receive a brownfields
assessment grant. Located in northern Michigan,
Otsego County (population 24,665) is a rural area
consisting of nine townships, a city, a village, and three
unincorporated villages. In 2006, Georgia Pacific, the
county's largest employer, closed its particle board
manufacturing plant, resulting in the loss of 210 direct
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the Otsego County Brownfield
Redevelopment Authority for a brownfields assess-
ment grant. Hazardous substances grant funds will
be used to conduct electromagnetic ground-
penetrating radar surveys and other site assess-
ment activities at the 59-acre former Champion
Products Sawdust/Waste Dump area at 2212
Dickerson Road in Gaylord. This site was once
part of a 93 3-acre particle board manufacturing
plant. Grant funds also will be used to support
community involvement 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: Otsego County Brownfield
Redevelopment Authority, MI
989-731-0288
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.
jobs, 155 secondary supplier jobs, and more than $12
million in annual wages. Unemployment in the county
averages 8.9 percent. From the mid-1960s through the
mid-1970s, the former Champion Products Sawdust/
Waste Dump area was used to dispose of particle
board manufacturing wastes. The target site currently
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA560-F-08-119
April 2008
www.epa.gov/brownfields
-------
is vacant and poses potential risks to human health and
the environment, including a potential threat to ground-
water, the county's source of drinking water. Assess-
ment of the site will help the county evaluate potential
environmental issues at the site and is expected to
facilitate the planned reuse of the site for a plant and
forest research area.
------- |