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Brownfields 2003
Grant Fact Sheet
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EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders in economic development
to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up,
and sustainably reuse brownfields. Abrownfield 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. Addi-
tionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal
response programs through a separate mechanism.
Community Description
Washtenaw County was selected to receive a
brownfields revolving loan fund grant. Washtenaw
County, located in southeast Michigan, spans 720
square miles and includes the cities of Ann Arbor and
Ypsilanti. The county's population has grown 14
percent since 1990, with an additional 34 percent
growth projected by 2030. Once dominated by agricul-
ture, the county is struggling to balance the growth of
urban areas with the preservation of natural areas and
rural character. Twenty-two of the county's 28 com-
munities have populations under 10,000. The county
will focus on the higher-poverty areas in Ypsilanti (26
percent poverty rate), Ann Arbor, Milan, Saline, and
Whitmore Lake. The redevelopment of the county's
many abandoned or obsolete industrial facilities, which
once supported the automobile industry, presents
Revolving Loan Fund
Grant
$1,400,000 for hazardous substances
$ 100,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected Washtenaw County for a
brownfields revolving loan fund grant. The grant
will be used to capitalize a revolving loan fund
from which the county will provide loans and
subgrants to conduct cleanup activities within the
28 cities, villages, and townships that comprise
the county. The county plans to use the grant to
support sustainable reuse, mixed-use develop-
ments that attract new jobs, affordable housing,
green-building opportunities, alternative transpor-
tation modes and walkways, and greenspace.
Petroleum funding will be used for removal and
cleanup of leaking underground storage tanks.
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 at:
www.epa.gov/brownfields.
EPA Region 5 Brownfields Team
312-886-7576
http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/
Grant Recipient: Washtenaw County, MI
734-994-2435
Prior to receipt of these funds in fiscal year 2003,
Washtenaw County has received brownfields funding for
assessment grants.
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been
negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet
are subject to change.
opportunities for affordable housing, improved water
quality and ecological habitats, and restoration of the
county's tax base.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA 500-F-03-208
June 2003
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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