W5
Brownfields 2006 Assessment Grant Fact Sheet
Arenac 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
Arenac County was selected to receive two brownfields
assessment grants. Arenac County (population 17,269) is
a rural community located in the east central portion of
Michigan's lower peninsula and on the Saginaw Bay of
Lake Huron. The county has vast water resources with
three major river systems and approximately 47 miles of
shoreline. Although the manufacturing sector generates
the second highest revenue for the county, it does not
provide enough jobs to support the community. About 48
percent of the county's land area is used for agricultural
purposes. The county is dependent on its agricultural,
tourism, and recreational industries for revenue
generation. The per capita income in the county is 26
percent less than the state per capita. Over the last five
years, the unemployment rate in the county has been
significantly higher than both the state and national rates.
Many brownfields are located along rural roads and in the
small, developed areas of the county. They include
unregulated dumps, junkyards, machine shops,
agriculture-related sites, abandoned gas stations, and
small manufacturing shops. In addition, there are more
than 1,000 oil and gas exploration and production wells
around the county that were drilled prior to the
promulgation of strict environmental regulations. These
sites pose potential threats to the groundwater and natural
resources of the county. Assessment and eventual cleanup
Assessment Grants
$200,000 for hazardous substances
$200,000 for petroleum
EPA has selected Arenac County for two
brownfields assessment grants. Hazardous
substances grant funds will be used to create an
inventory of sites; perform Phase I, II, and
baseline environmental site assessments; and
conduct community outreach activities throughout
Arenac County. Petroleum grant funds will be
used to perform the same tasks at sites throughout
the county 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: Arenac County,MI
(989)846-4111
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-06-105
May 2006

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of brownfields properties will help protect the health of
area residents who rely on groundwater for drinking,
preserve the waterways and natural resources that help
attract tourism to the area, and safeguard the productive
agricultural lands of the region.
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
Solid Waste
EPA 560-F-06-105
May 2006

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