FLINT, MI -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finalized a deal with the city of Flint on the former "Chevy in the Hole" manufacturing complex, clearing the city of any long-term liability for pollution at the site.

A

for the proposed environmental agreement passed without any changes issued to the

, which transfers ownership of the 130-acre property to the city of Flint, officials said Monday.

Flint Mayor Dayne Walling said the deal is a "major step forward" because now the property is eligible for about $1.5 million in remediation grant funds that city officials couldn't access before the site's long-term environmental liability was addressed.

The Chevy in the Hole complex holds a prominent place in the center of the city along the Flint River, near Kettering University, and was a backdrop of the historic Flint Sit-Down Strike of 1936-37.

"It's in proximity to tens of millions of dollars in investments," Walling said Monday. "Improving the health and appearance of the Flint River corridor will be a benefit to the surrounding institutions and neighborhoods."

Under the

, the city has to conduct an environmental assessment, cap the property, plant trees and other native vegetation and install walkways and groundwater monitoring wells. In exchange, Flint gets a covenant that it can't be sued for issues stemming from any existing contamination at the site, according to EPA documents.

The first steps include a complete study of the underground infrastructure at the site to identify any groundwater, storm water or structural issues, Walling said.

Future plans call for the creation of wetland and other natural features, he said. Work at the site will be completed as grant funds are secured, Walling said, so the property isn't expected to be a drain on the city's already strained resources.

The site is already undergoing a multi-phase remediation project with grant funds from the U.S. Forest Service. Thousands of trees are being planted to help remove contaminants from the soil and beautify the area.

"We can enhance the ecological features based on the underground infrastructure," Walling said. "We need to prevent contamination from getting into storm water drains."

The city of Flint obtained the property from the Flint Economic Development Corp., which obtained it for $1 with a quit claim deed from Delphi Corp. in 2008.

The finalized agreement was announced Monday at a Land Bank conference in Kalamazoo by Mathy Stanislaus, the Obama administration's assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, said EPA Spokesman Rafael Gonzales.

More details about the settlement are expected to be released this week, Gonzales said.