Community Corner

$600,000 EPA Grant Awarded to Oakland County Communities

Funds will help communities and developers determine if contaminated land can be reclaimed and redeveloped.

Oakland County will receive a $600,000 federal grant to help local communities and developers determine if contaminated land can be reclaimed and redeveloped.

The grant was awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and given to the Oakland County Brownfield Coalition communities of Farmington Hills, Ferndale, Hazel Park, Madison Heights, Pontiac and Southfield, according to a recent Oakland County press release.

These communities will each receive $60,000. The remaining $240,000 will be used in other Oakland County communities, the release states.

Find out what's happening in Oakland Township-Lake Orionwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

This is the fourth grant Oakland County has received from the EPA to perform environmental investigations of contaminated land.

"These grants help our communities identify potential development sites for land that sat dormant for years because of industrial contamination," Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said in the press release. "Reclaiming this land helps our communities and allows for responsible development."

Find out what's happening in Oakland Township-Lake Orionwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A similar $1 million grant awarded in 2009 produced 124 projects, with the proposed generation of $300 million in investment and creation of 1,800 jobs.

Among the projects that benefitted from that grant are the Emagine Theatre in Royal Oak, Lafayette Lofts in Pontiac and more.

Brownfield projects have also converted industrial waterfronts to riverfront parks, landfills to golf courses, rail corridors to recreational trails and gas station sites to housing.

PM Environmental of Berkley and the six OCBC communities provided support for the grant application.

"The team at Oakland County Economic Development went above and beyond to gather the necessary demographics for the county and six coalition communities to make this grant application a success," Michael T. Kulka, P.E., founder and CEO of PM Environmental, said in the release. "This grant will be a great catalyst for further economic activity and greatly benefit the people and businesses expanding in Oakland County. PM Environmental is honored to be a part of this dynamic team."

Find more information on the Oakland County Brownfield Initiative here.


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