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Learn About Making Contaminated Sites Safe for Reuse

Construction equipment breaks ground on Okemos redevelopment project
Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy

Learn About Making Contaminated Sites Safe for Reuse

Contaminated properties pose a risk to the State of Michigan.  Properties with environmental contamination are expensive to cleanup and reuse and can pose a health risk to Michiganders who live, work, or play on them. EGLE assists communities and property owners by identifying environmental contamination, taking action to reduce risk posed by the contamination when they are not responsible for the contamination, and encouraging the safe reuse of the sites.

  • Knowing which sites are contaminated

    Knowing which sites are contaminated

    Contamination can come from many sources such as past or present industrial and agricultural uses, storage tanks at gas stations, landfills, dry cleaning operations, or residential fuel oil tanks. Knowledge of these sources can come from many places. The county Register of Deeds can provide deed notices or restrictions. The local health department, fire department, previous owners, real estate disclosures, past or current employees, or neighbors may also have information. Samples of soil, groundwater, or soil vapor may be needed to determine if contamination does exist and if it exists at unacceptable levels.

  • Making sites safe

    Making contaminated sites safe

    People can be exposed to environmental contamination by breathing contaminated air, drinking contaminated water, or being in contact with contaminated soil. In addition to people’s health, contamination may impact public safety or welfare (e.g., explosive vapors) or the environment. 

    A person who is responsible for causing the contamination has obligations to take actions to clean up the contamination and/or prevent exposure to the contamination. 

    EGLE may conduct state funded actions to address environmental contamination that poses a risk to human health or the environment when a responsible party cannot address the contamination. 

    Learn more about Due Care

  • Reusing contaminated sites

    Brownfield properties are previously developed land that is not currently in use. Reuse of a brownfield property may be difficult because of contamination. The cleanup and reuse of these properties protects human health and the environment, reuses existing infrastructure, minimizes urban sprawl, and creates economic opportunities.

    Learn more about Brownfields

  • RenewMI Project Viewer

    This project viewer contains past and present projects from the Remediation and Redevelopment Division (RRD). RRD addresses environmental risks at properties where hazardous substances have been released into the soil or groundwater. The projects in the viewer are a mixture of sites where RRD is directly overseeing the environmental remediation efforts, and sites where a brownfield grant and/or loan have been provided to incentivize economic development. The map will continue to be updated as more project information becomes available.

    Launch RenewMI Project Viewer