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 ------- 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) ------- |