United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-00-056
March 2000
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
v>EPA Brownfields Supplemental
Assistance
Wayne County, Ml
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other
stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and
sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and
an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded
up to $200,000 over two years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models; job training
pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected
by brownfields to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental
field; and, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds
to make loans for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states,
tribes, municipalities, and communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods
to promote a unified approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.
BACKGROUND
EPA awarded Wayne County supplemental assistance
for its Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot.
The county, which includes the City of Detroit (a
federally designated Empowerment Zone), has a
population of 2.1 million. Automobile and steel
manufacturing are the area's major industries; Ford,
General Motors, Chrysler, and National Steel are all
located in Wayne County. Of the almost 30,000 acres
of industrial land in Wayne County, it is estimated that
at least one-third are brownfields (15.5 square miles).
These brownfields are located in urban, suburban,
and rural areas; several closed plants, illegal dumps,
and closed landfills are located in the most distressed
communities in the county.
OBJECTIVES AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES
The county's primary objective is to return the vacant
properties to economic and public reuse as industrial
plants or recreational areas. This redevelopment will
create jobs, attract further investment, and increase
the tax base in the distressed communities. Since the
original Pilot was awarded, the county has formed a
Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (BRA) under
the State of Michigan's brownfields program. This
authority gives each municipality within the county
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Wayne County, Michigan
Date of Announcement:
March 2000
Amount: $150,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
brownfields in the most
distressed communities in the
county. Of almost 30,000acres
of industrial land in Wayne
County, at least one-third are
brownfields.
Contacts:
Wayne County Brownfields
RedevelopmentAuthority
(313)224-0749
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 5
(312)886-1960
Visit the EPA Region 5 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/
Forfurther information, including specific Pilotcontacts,
additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and
publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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access to several state programs, including BRA tax
increment financing, BRA single business tax credits,
brownfields redevelopment grants, and technical
assistance. Municipalities within the county submit
brownfield candidates for assistance under the
county's brownfields program. Once a brownfield is
targeted, the county provides assessment, cost analysis,
and community outreachassistance. The supplemental
assistance will allow the county to continue to
implement this program.
To accomplish these objectives, the Pilot plans to:
• Select additional brownfields within the county for
further investigation;
• Conduct environmental site assessments at targeted
brownfields;
• Prepare Baseline Environmental Assessments
(BEAs) and due care plans under State of Michigan
specifications;
• Conduct brownfields cost analysis of cleanup and
reuse plans to evaluate the need for other public-
sector financing to complete the project; and
• Continue community outreach related to these
activities.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Brownfields Supplemental Assistance Wayne County, Michigan
April 2000 EPA 500-F-00-056
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