Brownfields 2009 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet Saginaw 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 Saginaw County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority was selected to receive a brownfields assessment coalition grant. The county's coalition partners are the City of Saginaw Brownfield Redevelopment Authority and the Saginaw County Land Bank Authority (combined population 206,300). Saginaw County, located in east-central Michigan, has been severely affected by the decline of the auto industry. There are 600 potential brownfield properties in the county, the majority consisting of abandoned former industrial sites and declining commercial buildings. The City of Saginaw also is struggling to address its many vacant residential units. The city has lost a quarter of its residents during the past 20 years. The poverty rate in the county is almost four percent higher than the national average. Assessment of brownfields is expected to stimulate economic growth in the county by removing an important barrier to brownfields cleanup and redevelopment. Assessment Grant $500,000 for hazardous substances $500,000 for petroleum EPA has selected the Saginaw County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority for a brownfields assessment coalition grant. Community-wide hazardous substances and petroleum grant funds will be used to conduct 70 Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to conduct cleanup planning and 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: Saginaw County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority,MI (989)839-2031 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-09-261 May 2009 ------- |