Brownfields 2010 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet
St. Joseph County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, Ml
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. In 2002,
the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields
Revitalization Act was passed to help states and
communities around the country cleanup and revitalize
brownfields sites. Under this 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 programs through a separate mechanism.
Community Description
The St. Joseph County Brownfield Redevelopment
Authority was selected to receive a brownfields
assessment grant. Located in southwest Michigan on the
Michigan-Indiana border, St. Joseph County (population
62,232) is a rural county with a large agricultural
community. It is known as the "Seed Capital of the
World" because it supports several prominent seed
processing facilities. Many local manufacturing facilities,
several of which supplied parts and services to major
automotive and recreational vehicle manufacturers, have
recently become idle or abandoned due to a severe decline
in economic activity and manufacturing. Many area
brownfields are in or near neighborhoods that house a
disproportionate number of low-income and minority
residents. The countywide unemployment rate is nearly
14 percent. As a result of decreases in tax revenue, the
county anticipates significant cutbacks in resources
devoted to brownfield assessments. Assessment of
brownfields will help identify potential hazards to human
health and the environment and determine which sites
have a high redevelopment potential.
Assessment Grant $200,000 for hazardous
substances
EPA has selected the St. Joseph County
Brownfield Redevelopment Authority for a
brownfields assessment grant. Community-wide
hazardous substances grant funds will be used to
perform up to 10 Phase I and seven Phase II
environmental site assessments, conduct up to
seven baseline environmental assessments, and
prepare three cleanup plans. Grant funds also will
be used to conduct 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/R5Brownfiel ds)
Grant Recipient: St. Joseph County Brownfield
Redevelopment Authority,MI
269-467-5663
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)
EPA560-F-10-111
April 2010
------- |