O  \    Brownfields 2009  Assessment Grant
  jSSZJ    Fact Sheet
               Roscommon County, Ml
                                                        RECOUERY.GOV
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
February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed
into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The Recovery Act is an unprecedented effort to
jumpstart our economy, and create or save millions of
jobs. This law provided stimulus funds to the
Brownfields Program to award grants to evaluate and
clean up former industrial and commercial sites. Under
this law, EPA will provide financial assistance to
eligible applicants through four competitive grant
programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund
grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants.

Community Description

Roscommon County was selected to  receive a
brownfields assessment grant. Located in the
north-central Lower Peninsula of Michigan,
Roscommon County (population 25,517) is  rural. Over
the last 30 years, the region's significant forests and
water resources attracted tourism, which relied heavily
on motorized recreational  vehicles and boats. The
decline in tourism, due mostly to  higher fuel prices, has
left a legacy of abandoned engine repair facilities,
salvage yards, and industrial sites. The state has
identified 69 known contaminated sites in the county,
and the county is aware of 50 to 70 more potential
brownfields. The county's unemployment and poverty
rates exceed those of the state as a whole. Brownfield
assessments are expected to define the extent of
contamination and catalyze redevelopment,  which is
expected to reduce contaminated runoff to ground and
surface waters and create opportunities to diversify the
workforce.
                   Assessment Grant
                   $200,000 for hazardous substances
                   (Recovery Act Funding)
                   EPA has selected Roscommon County for a
                   brownfields assessment grant. Community-wide
                   hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
                   inventory brownfields, and conduct 13 Phase I and 6
                   Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds
                   also will be used to conduct cleanup planning and
                   support community outreach activities.

                   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: Roscommon County,MI
                   (989) 275-5268

                   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-09-222
        May 09

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