Brownfields 2001 Assessment Pilot Fact Sheet
Three Rivers, Ml
EPA Brownfields Initiative
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states.
communities, and other stakeholders to work together to
prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. A brownfield 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. Additionally, funding support is
provided to state and tribal response programs through a
separate mechanism.
Background
EPA has selected the City of Three Rivers for a
Brownfields Assessment Pilot. The city is located in
northeastern St. Joseph County at the confluence of the
Rocky, Portage, and St. Joseph Rivers. Three Rivers
(population 7,464) is comprised of 3.8 square miles
along the Michigan-Indiana border, about 20 miles south
of Kalamazoo. Nearly 40 percent of Three Rivers'
occupied housing was built prior to 1939 and much of
the housing stock is dilapidated or substandard. About 21
percent of the city's total population live below the
poverty level.
The Pilot targets brownfields properties within the limits
of Three Rivers. Targeted sites, which already have been
identified, include a former metal foundry, former dry
cleaners, and former plating company. The targeted sites
have negatively affected surrounding communities.
Many are adjacent to residential neighborhoods that grew
up around industries that no longer exist. Some identified
brownfields are in highly visible parts of downtown
Three Rivers and some vacant parcels have become
targets for vandals
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 04/01/2001
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets seven abandoned and
potentially contaminated initial sites located in
economically depressed and blighted areas of the
City of Three Rivers.
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
(http ://www .epa.gov/brownfields).
EPA Region 5 Brownfields Team
(312)886-7576
EPA Region 5 Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields)
Grant Recipient: City of Three Rivers,MI
(616)273-1075
Objectives
The Pilot is part of Three Rivers's effort to redevelop
economically distressed and blighted areas within the
city. The redevelopment of these brownfields will help
Three Rivers attract new jobs to the area, create
opportunities for community investment, and enhance
the health and sustainability of the community.
Activities
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Completing assessment of seven identified sites
in need of immediate environmental evaluation
to meet Michigan Department of Environmental
Quality requirements and to capitalize on
existing developer interest in several of these
properties;
• Compiling an inventory of other brownfields
sites in the city;
• Selecting priority sites from the inventory, based
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA500-F-01-276
Apr 01
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on established criteria; and
• Conducting Phase I environmental site
assessments and following up, as appropriate,
with Phase II environmental site assessments or
Baseline Environmental Assessments (BEAs).
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet
been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this
fact sheet are subject to change.
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 negotiated. Therefore, activities
described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
United States Q ., . ,A/__t,.
E-ironmental andEmXency EPA 50°-F-°1 ^
Protection Agency ResDonse(51oVn Apr01
Washington, DC 20450 Kesponse (bl Ob I)
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