I JBt | Brownfields 2006 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet
Kalamazoo County, 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. On
January 11, 2002, President George W. Bush 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 programs through a separate
mechanism.
Community Description
Kalamazoo County was selected to receive two
brownfields assessment grants. Kalamazoo County
(population 238,603) is located in southwest Michigan,
approximately midway between Chicago, Illinois, and
Detroit, Michigan. The county has a history of
agricultural and industrial uses dating from the early
1800s. Kalamazoo, known as a center for manufacturing,
was home to many paper mills, and pharmaceutical and
automotive facilities. Mergers and closures in these
industries have left the county with numerous abandoned
factories and industrial sites, many along the banks of the
Kalamazoo River. A significant amount of growth has
occurred in the outlying farmlands of the county. Over the
last 20 years, the county has lost almost 35,000 acres of
farmland, and the urban cores of the county have been left
with abandoned and potentially contaminated properties.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has
identified 89 sites with hazardous substances
contamination and 235 locations with petroleum
contamination. Assessment and eventual cleanup of the
county's brownfields sites will help control or eliminate
the threats to human health and the environment, lead to
new opportunities for redevelopment, and alleviate
development pressue on county farmlands and greenspace.
Assessment Grants
$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected Kalamazoo County for two
brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous
substances grant funds will be used to inventory
and prioritize sites; perform Phase I, II, and
baseline environmental site assessments; prepare
site cleanup plans; and conduct community
outreach activities around the county. Funds also
will be used to address sites contaminated with
chemicals utilized to produce methamphetamines
and to conduct health monitoring for affected
populations. Petroleum grant funds will be used to
inventory and prioritize sites; perform Phase I, II,
and baseline environmental site assessments;
prepare site cleanup plans; and conduct
community outreach for sites with potential
petroleum contamination.
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: Kalamazoo County,MI
(269)384-8304
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-06-117
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	May 2006
Washington, DC 20450	Kesponse (si us )

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