Brownfields 2009 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet
              Albion 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 Albion Brownfield Redevelopment Authority was
selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. Albion
(population 9,167) is located at the confluence of the
north and south branches of the Kalamazoo River in
southern Michigan. During the 20th century, Albion was
home to heavy manufacturing facilities, such as steel and
automotive plants. Declines in manufacturing by the
1980s have left a legacy of abandoned and contaminated
industrial properties. Half the commercial buildings in
Albion's once-prosperous downtown business corridor
now stand vacant. The state has identified 70 sites in the
city with known environmental contamination. Another
review found 50 more potential brownfields. Albion has
lost a quarter of its residents since 1970, and its poverty
rate is 20 percent. Brownfield assessments are expected to
clarify potential public health and environmental threats,
and promote site cleanup and redevelopment.
                    Assessment Grant

                    $200,000 for hazardous substances

                    EPA has selected the Albion Brownfield
                    Redevelopment Authority for a brownfields
                    assessment grant. Community-wide hazardous
                    substances grant funds will be used to inventory
                    and prioritize Albion's brownfields and conduct
                    12 Phase I and 6 Phase II environmental site
                    assessments. Grant funds also will be used to
                    prepare baseline environmental assessments,
                    conduct cleanup planning, and support 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: Albion Brownfield
                     Redevelopment Authority,MI
                     (517)629-3926

                     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)
EPA 560-F-09-276
      May 2009

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