Ferndale to Receive $60,000 EPA Grant

Ferndale is one of six Oakland County communities that will receive funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help local communities and developers determine if contaminated land can be reclaimed and redeveloped.

The county was awarded a total of $600,000 in federal grant funding. The Oakland County Brownfield Coalition communities of Farmington Hills, Ferndale, Hazel Park, Madison Heights, Pontiac and Southfield will each receive $60,000, , according to a recent Oakland County press release.

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

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."

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, the Lafayette Lofts in Pontiac and many others.

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.