u o Brownfields Supplemental Assistance Wayne County, Ml BACKGROUND EPA awarded Wayne County supplemental assistance for its Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot. This is the second time Wayne County has been awarded supplemental assistance. The county (population 2.1 million) includes the City of Detroit, which is a federally designated Empowerment Zone. Automobile and steel manufacturing are the area's major industries. It is estimated that at least one-third (15.5 square miles) of the county's industrial area is covered with brownfields. Closed plants, illegal dumps, and closed landfills are scattered throughout the county. These sites attract illegal occupants, lower property values, and encourage further abandonment in these areas. Under the original EPA Pilot and using previous supplemental funding, the county initiated Phase I assessments at 23 sites, Phase II assessments at 10 sites, and baseline environmental assessments at four sites. Seven sites have started cleanup activities and another sevenhave started redevelopment activities. At least 17 of the selected bro wnfield sites are either in the Empowerment Zone, other economically distressedareas, orpredominantly minority areas of Wayne County. The supplemental assistance will be used to expand the county' s successful brownfields assessment andreclamation program into the most severely contaminated areas of Wayne County. OBJECTIVES AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES The primary goals of the county's brownfields program are to return vacant and underused properties to economic or public use, leverage other governmental funding sources, create jobs, and enhance the county tax base. Supplemental assistance will be used to assess sites recommended by the various county municipalities based on the sites' developmentpotential andcommunity benefits. In addition, the county will continue assessment and redevelopment support at four sites at which initial assessment were conducted underthe original Pilot or previous supplemental assistance. PILOT SNAPSHOT Date of Announcement: May 2002 Amount: $150,000 Profile: This Pilot will target up to six new sites in the most severely contaminated areas of Wayne Countyfor assessment. Wayne County, Michigan Contacts: Wayne County Brownfield RedevelopmentAuthority (313)224-5025 Regional Brownfields Team U.S. EPA Region 5 (312)886-8060 Visit the E PA Region 5 Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/ Forfurtherinformation,includingspecific Pilot contacts, additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/brownfields Activities planned as part of this Pilot include: • Selecting new brownfields based on criteria such as development potential, community impact, site desirability/accessibility, and market value from among those submitted by municipalities; • Conducting Phase I assessments on up to six sites; • Conducting Phase II assessments, baseline environmental assessments, and due care planning on four to six sites; ------- • Completing assessment support for four previously selected sites; and • Continuing outreach to private developers, municipalities, local groups, community organizations and development corporations. ThecooperativeagreementforthisPilothasnotyetbeennegotiated;therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. Solid Waste EPA 500-F-02-100 and Emergency May 2002 Response (5105) www.epa.gov/brownfields/ ------- |