Michigan Governor Jennifer M. Granholm applauded the environmental settlement agreement reached by the Obama Administration and the Motors Liquidation Company (Old GM), formerly known as General Motors, that will result in the cleanup and redevelopment of 56 auto properties in Michigan, accelerating the state’s Project Phoenix, an effort to redevelop former manufacturing facilities. The new agreement will result in a trust which will provide 14 states and one tribe with more than $641 million to return contaminated properties back to productive use.
The settlement, announced by the U.S. Department of Justice, addresses Old GM's environmental liabilities under several federal and state environmental laws at the 89 properties still owned by Old GM in Michigan and 13 other states. Under the settlement, an environmental response bankruptcy trust will be established to take ownership and possession of the properties and provide the funding to clean the properties up, administer them, and return them to beneficial use.
Michigan's Project Phoenix program, introduced by the governor in her State of the State address last February, brings the state, current and former property owners, businesses, communities, developers and other parties together to inventory – and promote for reuse – former manufacturing sites. The program includes buildings of 500,000 square feet or more, and land sites of 80 acres or more where former manufacturing facilities already have been demolished. The new trust announced today will provide funding for cleanup of 18 properties involved in Project Phoenix.
Michigan, which has the largest number of properties in the trust, will receive funding to address cleanup in:
Granholm noted that redevelopment of currently unused manufacturing sites could be ideal for clean energy companies looking to take advantage of Michigan’s significant tax incentives and skilled workforce.