United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response(5101)
EPA500-F-99-140
June 1999
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
SEPA
Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Muskegon Heights, Ml
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other
stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and
sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and
an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded
up to $200,000 over two years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models;job training
pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected
by brownfieldstofacilitatecleanupofbrownfieldssites and preparetrainees for future employmentintheenvironmental
field; and, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds
to make loans for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states,
tribes, municipalities, and communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods
to promote a unified approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.
BACKGROUND
EPA has selected the City of Muskegon Heights for
a Brownfields Pilot. Muskegon Heights is a small
community, approximately 3 square miles with 13,176
residents, 70 percent of whom are African American.
Historically, the city accepted industrial waste for use
as fill material and was home to metal foundries,
machining operations, and pattern-making businesses
that supported the automotive and defense industries.
As these industries declined and left the city, Muskegon
Heights continued to suffer from unemployment,
poverty, and an increasing number of industrial
brownfields. Thirty-five percent of the population
lives in poverty, and the unemployment rate is 14
percent.
The City of Muskegon Heights and its neighbor,
Muskegon, is a U.S. Housing and Urban
Development-designated Enterprise Community (EC).
The city has also received a U.S. Department of
Justice Weed & Seed Program grant that addresses
crime and related social issues.
OBJECTIVES
Muskegon Heights' ultimate goal is the economic
revitalization of the city through the cleanup and
PILOTSNAPSHOT
Muskegon Heights, Michigan
Dateof Announcement:
June 1999
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot plans to
inventory and prioritize
brownfields in Muskegon
Heights for assessment,
cleanup and redevelopment.
Contacts:
City of Muskegon Heights
Planning and
Community Development
(616)733-1355
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA- Region 5
(312)353-3161
Visit the EPA Region 5 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/
For further information, including specific Pilot contacts,
additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and
publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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redevelopment of brownfields and the mitigation of
risks to human health and the environment. To
achieve this objective, the city will carefully integrate
Pilot activities with those conducted with state funding
for brownfields assessments. Together, these two
projects and the newly created Brownfields
Redevelopment Authority will create and implement
a comprehensive, integrated brownfields strategy for
the city.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS ANDACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Developing a comprehensive inventory of
brownfields in the city;
• Conducting an economic analysis of and prioritizing
sites based on redevelopment potential;
• Developingapreliminarybrownfieldsredevelopment
plan, including a strategy for city acquisition of the
15 highest-priority sites;
• Performing a compliance analysis to evaluate the
potential contaminant exposure pathways;
• Designing cleanup plans and estimating cleanup
costs for the priority sites; and
• Conducting public outreach and ensuring community
involvement by holding five community outreach
workshops, creating a Pilot web site, and developing
communication materials.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Muskegon Heights, Michigan
June 1999 EPA500-F-99-140
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