Brownfields 2004 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet
Ionia County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, Ml
EPA Brownfields Program
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.
Community Description
The Ionia County Brownfield Redevelopment
Authority was selected to receive a brownfields
assessment grant. The county (population 61,518) has
not experienced the same rate of growth as adjacent
regions, and has been hurt by the closing of two large
plants in two of Ionia County's three cities. The county
also suffers from lower income levels and real estate
values than the rest of the state. There are 20
contaminated sites and at least 54 underground storage
tank sites in the county, and many more brownfields are
thought to exist along the Grand River than runs
through the county. Firms in neighboring Lansing and
Grand Rapids have inquired about available sites in
which to expand in Ionia County, creating opportunities
for redeveloped brownfields to return to use.
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the Ionia County Brownfield
Redevelopment Authority for a brownfields
assessment grant. Hazardous substances grant funds
and petroleum funds will both be used to develop an
inventory of approximately 50 properties in the
county, distribute inventory information, complete
approximately ten Phase I and an undetermined
number of Phase II environmental assessments, and
develop redevelopment plans for selected properties.
The grant will focus on a wide variety of industrial
sites, such as mills, tool and die plants, rail yards,
and auto parts plants, that have potential for
redevelopment in areas that include Belding, Lake
Odessa, Lyons, and Portland.
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: Ionia County, MI
Ionia County
(616)527-5319
Ionia County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority
(616) 527-8014
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
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 560-F-04-063
Jun 04
-------
United States Q ., . ,A/__t,.
E-ironmental andEmXency EPA 560-F-04-063
Protection Agency ResDonse(51oVn Jun °4
Washington, DC 20450 Kesponse (bl Ob I)
------- |