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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