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Brownfields 2004
Grant Fact Sheet
St. Joseph County
Economic
Development
Corporation, Ml
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, the President
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 pro-
grams through a separate mechanism.
Community Description
The St. Joseph County Economic Development
Corporation was selected to receive a brownfields
assessment grant. St. Joseph (population 62,422) is a
largely rural county in south central Michigan that has
been losing approximately 3,500 acres of farmland
annually to sprawl, as manufacturing and retail facilities
have relocated from its cities and town centers. The
move out of core communities has left a legacy of
joblessness and poverty in its wake. The poverty rates
in the county's two most populous cities are 16.2 and
19.3 percent, respectively. Cleanup of these
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected the St. Joseph County Eco-
nomic Development Corporation for a brownfields
assessment grant. Hazardous substances grant
funds will be used to conduct community outreach,
perform Phase I and II site assessments, and draft
redevelopment plans for sites around the county.
Petroleum funds will be used to perform the same
tasks at petroleum-contaminated sites.
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: St. Joseph County Economic
Development Corporation, MI
269-467-5653
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
brownfields will help preserve rapidly disappearing
farmland and greenspace, and attract investment to
improve the county tax base and provide jobs for its
residents.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA 560-F-04-205
June 2004
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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