Abandoned automotive plants are often described as eyesores in the Mid-Michigan area. Lansing Township Supervisor John Daher says, "They sure are, they're a terrible eyesore, in fact I cannot wait until such a time as we're looking at green space again so we can hopefully find some buyers for those properties."

Daher knows all about the fight to redevelop old GM properties. His township has two that have long sat idle. He says, "We have two plants that closed in 2007, and they're in the process right now of being demolished and they should be demolished by august of 2010. So, in the process, we have to figure out what we're going to do with 180 acres."

That's where the EPA and the White House Council on Automotive Communities and Workers comes into play. They met at the Brownfield Summit in Lansing Tuesday to discuss how to clean up and develop two Old GM sites in the Lansing Township area, an Old Gm site off Verlinden Street in Lansing and a New Gm property near the Grand River.

Mathy Stanislaus of the US Environmental Protection Agency says, "We're actually working with Old GM right now to make sure we have a good handle on the total cost of cleanup to make sure as much money is made available for the cleanup."

Bob Trezise, President of the Economic Development Corp. says, "We're working with the EPA to try to receive more assistance in converting the plant sites."

The goal is to one day turn those sites into places where there can be new jobs and possibly even some green space. The meeting is intended to help local leaders decide how to move forward with their plans. Trezise says, "Most of the Grand River Plant went to the New GM plant which is great news for us, we hope into the future of course. The Verlinden site and the two sites in Lansing Township went to the Old GM, so those are the sites we need to concentrate on for redevelopment and I feel very optimistic about it, but there's a lot of hard work ahead of us."

Although the timetable for cleaning up these plants isn't certain, Lansing Township has an idea of what it would like to see at its two sites. Daher says, "If the economy continues to shrink in the Lansing area, it's going to become more and more difficult, but John says, I'd like to see the properties ready for development sometimes by December of next year." He's hoping the EPA can help speed things along. Stanislaus says, "Our goal is to first listen to all of the issues that the community is suffering and really figure out how we can partner with the local communities and figure out a solution and transform these communities with opportunities for the future."

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero says his group, the national Mayors and Municipalities Automotive Coalition, sponsored the event. He says, "In particular of course, GM and the Big Three are downsizing they're leaving closed facilities all over the state and country so we're very excited to have this level of attention from the federal government. These are our partners in Washington."

Mayors came from all over the country and from all over Michigan to attend Tuesday's conference.