Approval process - Slide presentation
Summary of Authority
The Manistee County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority was formed in June 2002 to promote the revitalization, redevelopment and reuse of contaminated, tax reverted, blighted or functionally obsolete property under Act 381, P.A. 1996, as amended.
The Authority was established and members were appointed by the Manistee County Board of Commissioners to serve three year terms.
The Authority carries out its charge by reviewing and approving brownfield plans which provide incentives for private investment on contaminated sites and the implementation of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfield Assessment Grant
Brownfield Plans
Act 381, P.A. 1996, as amended, was enacted to promote the revitalization, redevelopment and reuse of contaminated, tax reverted, blighted or functionally obsolete property through incentives adopted as part of a brownfield plan. The brownfield plan outlines the qualifications, costs, impacts, and incentives for the project.
The plan must be approved by the brownfield redevelopment authority established under Act 381 and the governing body of the authority’s municipality in order to take effect. The municipality where the project is located must concur if there is a county brownfield authority and the state must approve the eligible activities if state taxes are to be captured. In addition, the state must approve a Brownfield Michigan Business Tax Credit.
Act 381 provides for the costs of certain eligible environmental activities to be reimbursed through tax increment financing. The brownfield plan includes a description of the eligible property, which must have contamination at levels above Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) Generic Residential Cleanup Criteria (GRCC), and a listing of the eligible activities that may be approved for reimbursement.
These activities include a Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessment and Baseline Environmental Assessment (BEA) that qualifies a purchaser for exemption from liability for pre-existing contamination and Due Care Activities such as investigations and remediation to prevent exposure to or worsening of environmental conditions on the property, and additional response activities to protect public health and the environment. For “core communities” established under the Obsolete Properties Rehabilitation Act (Act ___, 2000, as amended), which includes the City of Manistee, and property owned of under control of a land bank authority, there are additional eligible activities including lead and asbestos abatement, demolition, site preparation and infrastructure.
The initial taxable value of the property is established with the approval of the brownfield plan and the incremental increase in property taxes generated by the increase investment on the property are captured and reimbursed for approved eligible activities.
EPA Brownfield Assessment Grant
The Manistee County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority applied for and received two EPA Brownfield Assessment Grants, one for sites impacted by petroleum products and the other for site impacted by hazardous substances. The grants provide funding for inventory known or suspected sites of contamination, conducting environmental assessments to remove the unknowns regarding that contamination, positioning property for acquisition and redevelopment, and providing outreach to the community on the EPA grants and the opportunities for brownfield redevelopment.