EPA Announces More Than $6 Million in Brownfield Grants Through Investing in America Agenda to Rehabilitate and Revitalize Communities in Michigan

EPA Announces More Than $6 Million in Brownfield Grants Through Investing in America Agenda to Rehabilitate and Revitalize Communities in Michigan 

Funded by $1.5 billion investment into Brownfields sites from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to address legacy pollution, advance environmental justice, and create healthier communities 

May 20, 2024    

Contact Information: Danielle Kaufman ([email protected]) 312-886-6703 

CHICAGO – Today, May 20, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced more than $6 million in grant awards from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to expedite the assessment and cleanup of brownfield sites in Michigan while advancing environmental justice. These investments through EPA’s Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup and Revolving Loan Fund grant programs will help transform once-polluted, vacant, and abandoned properties into community assets, while helping to create good jobs and spur economic revitalization in overburdened communities. 

EPA selected seven communities in Michigan to receive grants totaling more than $5.4 million in competitive EPA Brownfields funding through the multipurpose, assessment, and cleanup grant programs. In addition, the agency is announcing $1 million in supplemental funding to one existing, high-performing Brownfields revolving loan fund grant program to help expedite their continued work at sites in Michigan. 

“Far too many communities across America have suffered the harmful economic and health consequences of living near polluted brownfield sites. I've long believed that people who’ve borne the burden of pollution should be the first to see the benefits of new investment. Under my Administration, we are making that a reality by ensuring the historic resources from my Investing in America agenda reach communities that need it most,” said President Joe Biden. 

“President Biden sees contaminated sites and blighted areas as an opportunity to invest in healthier, revitalized communities,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “That why he secured historic funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, supercharging EPA’s Brownfields program to clean up contaminated properties in overburdened communities and bring them back into productive use.”   

“The Great Lakes Region has a rich industrial history that brought with it economic prosperity, but also legacy contamination that stills plagued many of our communities,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore. “With today’s announcement and the ongoing investments from the Biden Administration, EPA and our many partners are accelerating brownfield cleanups and community redevelopment.” 

“Helping address legacy pollution and putting properties back on the tax rolls is an important part of building a vibrant economy, particularly in Michigan’s distressed communities,” said Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy Director Phil Roos. “Today’s support from the Biden-Harris administration’s U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will be critical to our work to support communities across Michigan and put formerly contaminated properties back into productive use while protecting our natural resources and safeguarding public health. EGLE stands ready to utilize every resource possible to make Michigan communities the best place to live, work, and play.” 

“The City of Detroit deeply appreciates the US EPA for its award of the FY24 Brownfield Community-Wide Assessment Grant,” said City of Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. “This new grant award will allow us to assess brownfield properties along commercial corridors bordering the Joe Louis Greenway, allowing us to reclaim vacant properties and stimulate new neighborhood-level economic activity.” 

“The lack of available housing is one of the biggest challenges in the City of South Haven. We look forward to working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to reduce barriers to housing development,” said City of South Haven Mayor Anne Brown Mayor. “A Community-Wide Assessment Grant will enable our team to work with public and private partners to conduct much needed site assessments to prepare former industrial sites, infill lots, and other property for responsible reinvestment, which will benefit our region for years to come.”   

"Macomb County is a leader in utilizing Brownfield funds to revitalize areas of our community in need of redevelopment," said Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel. "Our most notable project is Jimmy John's Field, where we worked with partners to turn land that had long been a dumping site into a world-class baseball facility for minor league sports. It transformed from a toxic eyesore to a community gathering space, and I'm thrilled that with new funds we have the opportunity to pursue more of these improvement initiatives." 

“We're honored to receive the US EPA Site Assessment Coalition Grant, vital for revitalizing Oakland County's brownfield sites," Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter said. "With a proven track record, this grant will further our efforts to transform neglected areas into thriving economic hubs, as exemplified by Ace Place's successful redevelopment.” 

“This grant from the EPA has been the most successful program to get Brownfield sites back on the tax roll and to help create new jobs,” said Tuscola County EDC Communications Director Jim McLoskey. "With one of our current projects, the EDC was able to partner with the Village of Cass City, the Michigan Department of EGLE and a local developer to bring back to life one of the largest, vacant buildings in Tuscola County-- all thanks to this valuable grant funding from the EPA. It is considered to be intergovernmental cooperation at its best!" 

“Bay Mills Indian Community is honored to receive the Clean Up funding from the Environmental Protection Agency for the Silver Dome Contamination Site. This grant signifies a crucial step forward in our commitment to environmental stewardship and the well-being of our Tribal Nation,” said Bay Mills Indian Community President Whitney Gravelle. “With these funds, we will diligently work to remove the source contaminants from the ground, restoring the land to its natural state and providing a healthier environment for generations to come. This initiative underscores our unwavering dedication to protecting our lands, preserving our culture, and safeguarding the health of our community.” 

“The Calhoun County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA) is grateful for this critical grant and we are eager to get to work with our coalition partners, the City of Albion and the Battle Creek Community Foundation, to assess environmental challenges in Calhoun County,” said CCLBA Executive Director Krista Trout-Edwards. “Previously awarded EPA grants to the CCLBA supported downtown projects and commercial demolitions. This grant expands on that work to include potential for residential opportunities in both communities. The Land Bank is committed to being a good community partner and working with coalition members and the EPA to revitalize communities across the county.” 

Patrick Farver, Executive Director of Lenawee Now, said “Our organization is delighted to receive this award and cannot wait to put it to use improving our community. 

Many communities that are under economic stress, particularly those located in areas that have experienced long periods of disinvestment, lack the resources needed to initiate brownfield cleanup and redevelopment projects. As brownfield sites are transformed into community assets, they attract jobs, promote economic revitalization and transform communities into sustainable and environmentally just places. 

Thanks to the historic $1.5 billion boost from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA’s Brownfields program is helping more communities than ever before begin to address the economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by brownfields and stimulate economic opportunity, and environmental revitalization in historically overburdened communities. 

EPA’s Brownfields program advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative which set a goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. The Brownfields program strives to meet this commitment and advance environmental justice and equity considerations in all aspects of its work. Approximately 86% of the applications selected to receive funding proposed to work in areas that include disadvantaged communities. 

State Funding Breakdown: 

Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup Grant Program Selection 
The following organizations in Michigan have been selected to receive EPA Brownfields funding through the multipurpose, assessment, and cleanup grant program. 

• Bay Mills Indian Community has been selected to receive $575,000 to clean up the Silver Dome site located at 12069 Lakeshore Drive. The 1.4-acre cleanup site was constructed sometime between 1993 and 1998 as the headquarters for the Bay Mills Indian Community’s Public Works and Construction Department. Soil and groundwater at the site are contaminated with trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene from an unknown source. 
   
• Calhoun County Land Bank Authority has been selected to receive $1,500,000 to inventory and prioritize sites and conduct 37 Phase I and 32 Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to develop 13 cleanup plans. Assessment activities will focus on the southeast and northwest neighborhoods within the city of Battle Creek and the western portion of the city of Albion. Priority sites include a 17-acre and a 3-acre demolished lots located in residential neighborhoods and a 17-acre former industrial site located next to a senior center and sports field. Non-lead coalition members include the city of Albion and the Battle Creek Community Foundation. 
   
• The city of Detroit has been selected to receive $500,000 to conduct 19 Phase I and up to 10 Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to update site inventory, prepare four cleanup plans, and conduct community engagement activities. The target area for this grant is the 704 acres located on the northeast side of the Joe Louis Greenway in the North Campau and Campau-Banglatown neighborhoods and over 400 vacant parcels in the Corktown and North Corktown neighborhoods. Priority sites include a former railyard, a former automotive site, a former recreational center, a former freight station, a printing facility, and a former manufacturing site. 
   
• Lenawee Chamber Foundation has been selected to receive $500,000 to conduct five Phase I and five Phase II environmental site assessments at the priority sites, and 17 Phase I and eight Phase II environmental site assessments at secondary sites. Grant funds also will be used to prepare one site reuse plan and to conduct community engagement activities. The target area for this grant is the Highway 223 Corridor in South-central Michigan with a focus on the cities of Adrian and Blissfield and Palmyra Township. Priority sites include a former metal works facility, a former paper manufacturing and recycling facility, a former car parts manufacturing facility, and a former hospital. 
   
• Oakland County has been selected to receive $1,500,000 to inventory sites and conduct 95 Phase I and 58 Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to support community engagement activities. Assessment activities will focus on the downtown area of the city of Pontiac, the Southeast Corner District of the city of Southfield, and a six-mile portion of the county’s 8-mile road corridor within the cities of Hazel Park and Oak Park. Priority sites include a 2.6-acre vacant site that houses a former school building and gas station, a 7-acre site that houses three vacant former industrial buildings in varying states of deterioration, and a 30-acre former commercial area that has been vacant for 15 years. Non-lead coalition members include the city of Southfield and the Community Housing Network. 
   
• The city of South Haven has been selected to receive $300,000 to conduct eight Phase I and six Phase II environmental site assessments on priority sites and five Phase I and three Phase II environmental site assessments at non-priority sites. Grant funds also will be used to prepare two cleanup plans and conduct community engagement activities. The target area for this grant are Wards 1 and 2. Priority sites include former industrial and manufacturing buildings, an abandoned railroad right-of-way, a site where fill material contaminated with metals was placed, and a site containing a closed leaking underground storage tank. 
   
• Tuscola County Economic Development Corporation has been selected to receive $600,000 to update a brownfield inventory and conduct 25 Phase I and 16 Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to develop six cleanup plans and support community engagement activities. Assessment activities will focus on the cities of Vassar, Bad Axe, and Brown City. Priority sites include a 10-acre former refuse dump that has been unused since 1968, a 1-acre former dairy bottling factory that was later used as a bus garage, and a 1-acre former manufacturing facility. Non-lead coalition members include Huron and Sanilac counties. 

You can read more about this year’s multipurpose, assessment, cleanup grant selectees, visit EPA’s FY 2024  Multipurpose, Assessment and Cleanup Applicants webpage. 

Non-Competitive Supplemental Funding Through the Existing Revolving Loan Fund Grant Program 

• Macomb County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority has been selected to receive $1 million in addition to the $1 million in EPA funds already awarded. The recipient was selected because it has a high-performing program with that has successfully made a loan and a subgrant leading to one completed cleanup project. Potential projects highlighted include the remediation of sites in Eastpoint, Warren, and Mt Clemens. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding will extend the capacity of the program to provide funding for more cleanups in the most underserved areas in Macomb County. 

To see the list of revolving loan fund supplemental funding recipients visit EPA’s FY 2024  Multipurpose, Assessment and Cleanup Applicants webpage.  

To learn more about revolving loan fund technical assistance grant recipient visit EPA’s Brownfields Grow America webpage.   

Additional Background:  
EPA has selected these organizations to receive funding to address and support the reuse of brownfield sites to address the health, economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by brownfields. EPA anticipates making all the awards announced today once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied. 

EPA’s Brownfields program began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.7 billion in grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse. Prior to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this program made approximately $60 million available each year. Thanks to the President’s historic investments in America through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA has now increased that yearly investment nearly 400 percent. More than half of the funding available for this grant cycle (approximately $160 million) comes from the historic $1.5 billion investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This investment has also allowed the Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup grants’ maximum award amounts to increase significantly from $500,000 to a new maximum of $5 million per award.     

For more information on EPA’s Brownfields Program, visit EPA’s Brownfields webpage.  
 
 

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