The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) recently awarded additional Brownfield grants and loans to communities to protect public health and the environment and revitalize contaminated property. Recent brownfield grants were made to:

• The City of Trenton was awarded a $200,000 brownfield grant to revitalize and reuse a former gas station and auto repair facility. The brownfield grant will be used to remove underground storage tanks, contaminated soil, and buried building foundations.

• The Detroit Brownfield Redevelopment Authority was awarded a $650,000 grant to revitalize and reuse a former car dealership on Grand River Avenue. The brownfield grant will be used to remove underground storage tanks, contaminated soil and install barriers to prevent exposure to contaminated soil.

• The Emmet County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority was awarded a $76,200 grant to revitalize and reuse a former gas station in Pellston. The grant will be used for an environmental investigation update and to demolish an abandoned building.

• The City of Grand Haven was awarded a $30,000 grant by the MDEQ to evaluate potential environmental contamination at a former gas station site. 

• The City of St. Louis was awarded a $26,000 grant by the MDEQ to evaluate potential soil and water environmental contamination at a former gas station site.

• The Ionia County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority was awarded a $27,500 grant to revitalize and reuse a former gas station property. The grant will be used to evaluate the property for potential reuse.

• The City of Detroit was awarded a $205,000 grant to revitalize and reuse three properties on East Jefferson Avenue. The grant will be used to remove contaminated soil that was the result of former business that were operated at the sites, including auto repair facilities, gas stations, a dry cleaner, and industrial manufacturing operations.

• The Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport Authority was awarded a $60,000 Brownfield Redevelopment Grant awarded by the MDEQ to help fund an environmental contamination at the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base (in operation from 1923 to 1993). The investigation will assist in the determination of how to revitalize and safely reuse the contaminated site.

• The Grand Rapids Brownfield Redevelopment Authority was awarded a $235,000 grant to revitalize and safely reuse 6.5 acres on the city’s southwest side. The grant will pay for building demolition, environmental assessments, and removal of contaminated soil.

• The Bay City Brownfield Redevelopment Authority was awarded a $143,000 grant to revitalize and reuse a former gas station. The grant will be used to remove and dispose of the contaminated soil.

• The Chippewa County Economic Development Corporation (EDC) was awarded a $45,000 brownfield redevelopment grant awarded to help identify potential new uses for vacant buildings at the Chippewa County International Airport. The airport is located on the property of the former Kincheloe Air Force Base. The grant will help the evaluate buildings that are being underutilized on the property and determine environmental cleanup and asbestos abatement needs.

Merit Laboratories is NELAP-accredited and experienced supporting Brownfield projects with Brownfield Redevelopment Authorities, environmental consultants, and developers.  Merit’s team of chemists and scientists are skilled at managing Brownfield programs to ensure the correct data quality objectives and data reporting formats are prepared. Our team provides CLP-Like Level 4 data packages in support of Brownfield projects.

Please contact Merit Laboratories to learn more about how we can support your Brownfield projects.