LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A state grant will help Chippewa County find new uses for vacant buildings at a former Air Force base in the Upper Peninsula.

The Department of Environmental Quality has awarded $45,000 in brownfield funding to the Chippewa County International Airport.

It will help the county’s Economic Development Corporation evaluate under-used buildings on the airport grounds and determine what types of cleanups and asbestos treatments are needed.

The airport was formerly the Kincheloe Air Force Base. It was closed as a military installation in the late 1970s.

The state DEQ uses brownfield grants to help communities make new uses of contaminated parcels while protecting public health and the environment.