I JBt \ Brownfields 2009 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet 'w1' J°sePh County Economic Development Corporation, 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 Economic Development Corporation was selected to receive a brownfields assessment grant. St. Joseph County (population 62,777) is located in southwest Michigan along the Indiana border. It is a rural county with a large agricultural base, and is known as the "Seed Corn Capital of the World." However, 42 percent of the county's jobs are in manufacturing. Since 2001, the county has lost more than 10 percent of its manufacturing jobs. The county has a nearly 12 percent unemployment rate, and more than 13 percent of its residents live in poverty. St. Joseph County relies entirely on groundwater for its drinking water supply. The cost of treating groundwater, accessing new groundwater supplies, or closing contaminated wells is prohibitive for a small county. There are 278 active underground storage tanks and 45 leaking underground storage tanks in the county. Assessment of brownfields will help identify threats to groundwater and help the county prevent releases of contaminants. Assessments will focus on sites that are expected to catalyze private investment and job creation. Assessment Grant $200,000 for petroleum EPA has selected the St. Joseph County Economic Development Corporation for a brownfields assessment grant. Community-wide petroleum grant funds will be used to conduct up to 12 Phase I and 8 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: St. Joseph County Economic Development Corporation,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 c Environmental anri Fmpflpn™ EPA 560-F-09-063 Protection Agency Response (5105T) May 2009 Washington, DC 20450 Kesponse (si us ) ------- |