Wayne County committee approves amendments to EPA-funded environmental assessment contracts

The Wayne County Economic Development Committee approved amendments to professional services agreements to continue federally funded environmental assessment work and received operating reports for two county parking facilities.

Lucius Anthony, assistant director for Economic Vitality, told commissioners the county received a $1,000,000 EPA assessment grant and issued a request for proposals to hire firms to perform environmental testing and assessments when projects are submitted. Anthony said six vendors originally responded to the RFP and the county divided available funds among them, allocating about $136,000 to each vendor. He said two firms — AKT Peerless Environmental and another vendor described in the record as “pension” — have been the active participants bringing projects for assessment and are nearing their allocated caps.

Anthony said most funded projects have been housing and mixed-use developments, along with restaurants and community centers. He cited named projects funded under the program, including Freedom House of Detroit and the Detroit Football Club stadium, and said work has occurred in Inkster, Canton and Garden City.

Commissioners moved and supported approval of the amendment requests for the two firms. The committee recorded unanimous approval on the motion; no opposition was voiced during the vote and the items were accepted as received and filed. The minutes for the committee’s previous meeting (06/24/2025) were also approved earlier in the session.

The committee did not record detailed line-item questions on the amended contracts during the discussion. No changes to scope or time period for the EPA assessment grant were reported during the item; commissioners were offered copies of the underlying monthly operating reports and the assessment documentation.