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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