EPA Awards Nine Ohio Brownfields Grants

7/7/2003

From: John Peterson of EPA Region 5, 312-886-9858

CHICAGO, July 7 -- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 has selected eight local governments in Ohio to receive nine grants totaling more than $2.4 million to help redevelop brownfields.

The cities and counties selected for federal funds are Cuyahoga County, Cuyahoga Falls, Fostoria, Mahoning County, Reading, Sebring, Springfield and Toledo. Nationally, EPA announced $73.1 million in brownfields funding for 176 applicants.

Brownfields are abandoned or underutilized properties where real or perceived environmental contamination has slowed redevelopment.

"Brownfields redevelopment does much more than turn neighborhood eyesores into community assets," said EPA Region 5 Administrator Thomas V. Skinner. "It also restores hope and creates opportunity."

Here is a summary of the latest grants:

-- Cuyahoga County, Ohio, received a $400,000 assessment grant to investigate hazardous substance and petroleum contamination on eight to 12 sites around Cleveland and neighboring suburbs. Part of the grant will also be used for community involvement activities. Declining industry has left more than 4,500 acres of brownfields in the county, officials estimate. The Cuyahoga County Brownfield Redevelopment Fund and Program was established to promote reuse of these properties. Local contact: (216) 443-7260.

-- Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, was awarded $200,000 to assess hazardous substances on three city-designated redevelopment areas located within a blighted industrial corridor on Front Street adjacent to the Cuyahoga River. Grant money will also be used to complete a citywide brownfields inventory and involve the community in land-use decisions. Officials hope riverfront redevelopment will create new jobs, housing opportunities and recreational outlets. Local contact: (330) 971-8136.

-- Fostoria, Ohio, received $300,000 to assess hazardous material and petroleum contamination on a dozen brownfields in an area known as the Iron Triangle, where three railroad lines converge. The funds will also be used to conduct human health risk assessments and community outreach. Fostoria hopes to reuse the brownfields to build a railroad museum and visitor center with viewing platform where 150 trains pass through the city daily. Local contact: (419) 435-7789.

-- Mahoning County, Ohio, was awarded $170,000 to assess hazardous substances contamination on a 120-acre former steel and industrial complex next to the Mahoning River. Grant money will also be used for planning activities. The Mahoning River Corridor of Opportunity Planning Committee, a consortium of 31 public and private entities, has been organized to coordinate brownfields redevelopment in the Mahoning River Valley. Local contact: (330) 740-8799.

-- Reading, Ohio, received a $200,000 assessment grant to investigate petroleum contamination at an 18-acre site of a former glass and box manufacturer along Reading Road. The site is located near an emerging biotech hub, and redevelopment plans call for construction of new laboratory and office space, which could generate 300-400 new research and support jobs. Local contact: (513) 733-3725.

-- Sebring, Ohio, won a $154,426 assessment grant that will be used to look for hazardous substances on properties that once housed pottery factories. Environmental concerns on the properties include lead, arsenic, silica, uranium oxide and solvents. Grant funds will also be used for community outreach. Officials said the brownfields are a blight on the downtown area and need to be redeveloped. Local contact: (330) 938-9340.

-- Springfield, Ohio, was awarded $400,000 to assess hazardous material and petroleum contamination. Four gas station sites have suspected petroleum contamination and underground storage tanks, while several sites within the Southwest Downtown Urban Renewal Area contain suspected hazardous substances. The money will also be used for cleanup planning and community outreach using a mobile kiosk exhibit. The target sites for hazardous material assessment are located on a nine-block area in the city's core slated for redevelopment into a new medical facility. The city expects to add 2,000 new jobs with the redevelopment and attract $300 million in capital investment. The city hopes to turn the former gas stations into parks. Local contact: (937) 324-7304.

-- Toledo, Ohio, received $400,000 for pollution assessment and another $200,000 grant for petroleum cleanup. The city of Toledo is cooperating with the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority on the brownfields effort. The assessment grant will be used to investigate central city neighborhoods, develop cleanup plans and perform community outreach. The cleanup grant will help pay for removal of petroleum pollution on a portion of the Warren Sherman Business Park, which was used for a taxi company and service station from 1936 to 1968. Officials hope to redevelop the business park and relieve the neighborhood's poverty and blight. Local contact: (419) 936-3015.

For more information about these grants and the brownfields program go to http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/.