Marquette Co. Land Bank in line for major clean-up funding

Marquette County was recently selected to receive $400,000 in assessment funding for Brownfield sites from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

“This EPA brownfield grant will help Marquette County assess contaminated sites so they can be cleaned up,” U.S. EPA Region 5 Administrator Susan Hedman said. “This grant will help restore land to productive use and spur redevelopment.”

Once negotiated, Marquette County will receive $200,000 for assessment of petroleum sites and $200,000 for assessment of sites with hazardous materials. Through the Marquette County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, the funds will specifically be used to develop an inventory of potential Brownfield sites, perform Phase I and Phase II environmental assessments, prepare cleanup plans, conduct area-wide planning, and support community outreach activities.

In recent years, the program has allowed for decaying properties to be rehabilitated, thus creating added tax revenue for the county.