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In 2004, Mason County was awarded a USEPA
brownfield assessment grant and the City of
Ludington was awarded a MDEQ community-wide
brownfield site assessment grant. The City
and County have combined efforts and resources in
a cooperative arrangement to leverage both state
and federal grant funds to position property for
redevelopment. As part of this collaborative
effort, the City and County issued one Request for
Qualifications and Proposals and selected Otwell
Mawby, P.C. (Otwell Mawby) in a highly competitive
process over 15 other environmental consulting
firms.
From public forums and other input provided by
community members, over 120 sites were
identified. Otwell Mawby prepared a process
for the Mason County Brownfield Redevelopment
Authority to evaluate the sites based on owner and
buyer interest, redevelopment potential, spin-off
redevelopment opportunities, downtown development,
public open space creation, perceived level of
contamination, exposure risk and other
factors. Key sites have been prioritized, a
total of 52 sites have been approved by the City
Council and County Board, with 50 sites approved
by the EPA and MDEQ. Access agreements have
been negotiated with property owners of 23
properties: 23 Phase I ESAs, seven Phase II ESAs
and two BEAs have been completed to date.
The project target was to inventory 50 sites,
conduct, Phase I ESAs on 40 sites, Phase II ESAs
for 10 – 15 sites, and BEAs for about 5 - 8
sites.
As part of the project, Otwell Mawby worked with
InfoGeographics, a Traverse City-based GIS
consulting firm that does work nationwide, to
develop a GIS-based map and inventory that
intelligently identified site data with a map
location and will provide for subsequent updates
of information, such as the Phase I and Phase II
ESA reports, BEAs, site pictures, and detailed
location and site maps
to be accessible through the website.
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