Trends...Economic, Financial & Environmental

St. Clair Shores officials are expected to take steps next month to have certain neighborhoods added to the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPAs) list of high-priority areas due to the presence of PCB contamination. They hope to have the sites officially added to the National Priority List for cleanups by September, and therefore be eligible for Superfund cleanup funding.

Both the local community, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment, currently have little money for cleanup efforts. So, the goal of the effort is to be able to potentially tap into federal dollars to speed the cleanup process.

But homeowners are nervous.  How will having an EPA listed site in their backyard affect the value of their homes? Especially considering the depressed nature of the Michigan economy.

Proponents of the idea argue that the federal government has the budget to undertake the work and that the actual areas of contamination are small.  Detractors of the idea counter by arguing that once on the EPA Superfund list, the cleanup process will be slow and there is no reason to risk further decreasing already depressed property values in the upscale community.

It will be fascinating to watch as the story unfolds and it poses an interesting question: Would you want your neighborhood on the National Priority List?

August Mack specializes in environmental, health and safety compliance; environmental due diligence; environmental site remediation; and sustainable business strategies to the industrial, legal, financial, health care and government sectors throughout North America. August Mack has offices in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania. For more information on August Mack's environmental, health and safety services, visit www.augustmack.com or call 800.579.0770.