The analyst downloaded the raw data used to develop this dataset from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ). Pursuant to statutory guidelines under the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA), the DEQ is required to “post on its website an inventory of residential closures and a separate inventory of other known facilities.” For the purposes of this dataset, “residential closures”have not been included; these were submitted to the DEQ in a No Further Action Report and satisfy remediation standards for Residential Facilities. All“other known facilities” available are included in the Inventory of Facilities dataset that serves as the foundation for this layer.

The Inventory of Facilities includes all locations where there have been a release of hazardous substances as defined under multiple subsets of NREPA. Although this list is commonly referred to as Brownfields, it can contain other types of designations including but not limited to: Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (LUST), Baseline Environmental Site Assessments (BEAs) and Environmental Site Assessments. Each of these designations requires further action, and the sites are pursuing cleanup in conjunction with the DEQ.

It is also important to mention that this inventory does not necessarily include every facility that is subject to NREPA’s guidelines, since owners are not required to inform the DEQ about the facilities and can pursue cleanup independently. Facilities that are not known to the DEQ are not on the inventory, nor are locations with releases that resulted in little or no environmental impact.Metadata associated with this file includes field description metadata and a narrative summary detailing the creation of this dataset.For more information about the Motor City Mapping project, please visit www.motorcitymapping.org.