The Cleanup and Redevelopment Fund was established  by Act 380, P.A. of 1996 to help focus funding on redevelopment of brownfields in Michigan. The fund may receive money or other assets from any source for deposit into the fund. The state treasury shall direct the investment of the fund and shall credit to the fund interest and earings from these investments. In addition, the fund shall receive as revenue, money collected by the attorney general in actions filed under Part 201 of Act 451 of 1994, as amended, collected by the person under section 20135(2), civil fines imposed due to a release or threat of a release from a facility.  Act 384, P.A. of 1996, requires that the state treasurer annually disburse to the cleanup and redevelopment fund, for fiscal years 1997, 1998, and 1999, up to $15,000,000 each year of the unredeemed bottle deposits disbursed to the cleanup and redevelopment trust fund. In addition to these disbursements, during each state fiscal year, 80% of the revenues received  by the trust fund for unredeemed bottle deposits shall be deposited into the cleanup and redevelopment fund. Money collected into the fund may be earmarked by the department to support cleanup and redevelopment of specific sites of environmental contamination. The unexpected balance within the fund at the close of the fiscal year shall be carried forward to the following fiscal year.

The fund is used to conduct state-funded cleanup projects at specific sites of environmental contamination and focuses on cleanup projects needed to protect public health and the environment, in particular at sites that have acute health or environment problems and at those leaking underground storge tank sites where no liable party can be identified or where the liable party is unwilling or unable to proceed with cleanup.

One example of the CRF program successes is  Wilson's Grocery in Sumner Township, in Gratiot County. Cleanup and redevelopment funding was used investigate the extent of and to abate groundwater contamination that came from an old leaking underground storage tank used by the only gas station and market in town. New owners installed new tanks to protect the surrounding residents from future releases.