MARQUETTE — Marquette County was successful in securing a $400,000 U.S. EPA Brownfield Community-wide Assessment Grant to assess abandoned and contaminated properties throughout the county, with a specific focus on the target areas of Ishpeming and Sawyer.

The funding, which became available on Oct. 1, was awarded through the U.S. EPA’s Brownfield Program.

“Marquette County is pleased to be the recipient of its third U.S. EPA Assessment Grant. These grants have played a significant role in supporting numerous commercial and industrial projects across the County,” said Paul Arsenault, chair of the Marquette County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority. This grant will provide the resources not only for environmental assessments, but also for cleanup planning and community outreach activities.

These are competitive grant funds; in Michigan, only six communities received these federal funds in 2025. In total, $121.8 million was awarded to 148 communities and organizations across the country.

The MCBRA received a $400,000 U.S. EPA Brownfield Assessment Grant in 2013 and $300,000 in 2021. With these funds, they completed 34 Phase I Environmental Site Assessments and 29 Phase II ESAs throughout the county, resulting in approximately 559 new or retained jobs and over $103 million in investment.

“These grant funds genuinely act as a catalyst providing the initial funding needed to conduct due diligence or evaluate site conditions on a potentially contaminated, blighted, or vacant site,” said Jackie Solomon, director of the MCBRA. “The MCBRA is uniquely positioned to collaborate with developers and communities to help offset the extra costs associated with brownfield sites.”

Applications for project funding are received by the MCBRA on an ongoing basis and can be obtained from the Authority’s website at brownfield.mqtco.org.