EPA Announces $6.5 Million in Brownfield Grants Through Investing in America Agenda to Rehabilitate and Revitalize Communities in Ohio

EPA Announces $6.5 Million in Brownfield Grants Through Investing in America Agenda to Rehabilitate and Revitalize Communities in Ohio 

Funded by $1.5 billion investment into Brownfields sites from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to address legacy pollution, advance environmental justice, and create healthier communities 

May 20, 2024  

Contact Information: Danielle Kaufman ([email protected]) 312-886-6703 

CHICAGO – Today, May 20, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced more than $6 million for seven grants from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to expedite the assessment and cleanup of brownfield sites in Ohio while advancing environmental justice. These investments through EPA’s Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup and Revolving Loan Fund grant programs will help transform once-polluted, vacant, and abandoned properties into community assets, while helping to create good jobs and spur economic revitalization in overburdened communities. 

EPA selected six communities in Ohio to receive grants totaling $5.5 million in competitive EPA Brownfields funding through the multipurpose, assessment, and cleanup grant programs. In addition, the agency is announcing $1 million in supplemental funding to one existing, high-performing Brownfields revolving loan fund grant program to help expedite their continued work at sites in Ohio. 

“Far too many communities across America have suffered the harmful economic and health consequences of living near polluted brownfield sites. I've long believed that people who’ve borne the burden of pollution should be the first to see the benefits of new investment. Under my Administration, we are making that a reality by ensuring the historic resources from my Investing in America agenda reach communities that need it most,” said President Joe Biden. 

“President Biden sees contaminated sites and blighted areas as an opportunity to invest in healthier, revitalized communities,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “That why he secured historic funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, supercharging EPA’s Brownfields program to clean up contaminated properties in overburdened communities and bring them back into productive use.”   

“The Great Lakes Region has a rich industrial history that brought with it economic prosperity, but also legacy contamination that stills plagued many of our communities,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore. “With today’s announcement and the ongoing investments from the Biden Administration, EPA and our many partners are accelerating brownfield cleanups and community redevelopment.” 

“This federal funding complements the ongoing effort and emphasis Ohio EPA continues to put into our Brownfields program,” Ohio EPA Director Anne Vogel said. “During Gov. DeWine’s administration, Ohio has become a national leader when it comes to brownfield redevelopment. Ohio EPA has provided millions of dollars to conduct more than 560 Targeted Brownfield Assessment projects in 73 counties, with 270 of those being completed in the last five years. We appreciate the partnership of the US EPA to help seven more Ohio communities investigate former industrial sites and set them on the path towards clean up and revitalization.”    

“Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Southwest Ohio is receiving $1 million to address harmful environmental contamination,” said Rep. Greg Landsman. This investment will make our communities healthier and support the development of the Uptown Innovation Corridor, a 65-acre hub that will create over 7,000 jobs and position Cincinnati as a leader in technological advancement.” 

City of Barberton Mayor William B. Judge stated, “My administration has worked tirelessly on these projects.  We look forward to this grant funding to help move these projects forward, thus moving the community forward as well. The funding the City was awarded will be used to add to the existing brownfields site inventory, develop remedial action plans at properties contaminated with hazardous substances, and conduct public outreach and education. Thank you to the Ohio EPA and the new Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program for this important grant.” 

“Being awarded this Community Assessment Grant will have a profound impact on Harrison Township.  As a community with a legacy of obsolete industrial and commercial sites, and declining local revenue, Harrison Township has significant redevelopment needs,” said Development Director of Harrison Township Emily Crow. “Support from the EPA will help us realize tangible progress towards a cleaner revitalization of at least two areas to better serve our community.” 

David Zak, President & CEO of the Crawford Partnership for Education and Economic Development, said, "We are thrilled for Crawford County to receive the EPA Brownfields Assessment Grant, which will be pivotal in transforming brownfield landscapes of potential into hubs of economic and community activity. By addressing these neglected sites, we not only enhance environmental safety but also ignite a spark of revitalization that promises new opportunities for Bucyrus, Crestline, New Washington, and beyond." 

"We are grateful to the USEPA for the award and support this grant offers. As a lifelong resident of the Stockyards neighborhood, I am excited about the long-awaited opportunity this grant provides to set the course for business expansion in this community,” said Cuyahoga Land Bank Chief Operating Officer Ricardo León. “Further, the end result will spur growth with a historic Cleveland-based business."   

Grace Gallucci, Executive Director & CEO of NOACA and Director of the Vibrant NEO Board of Directors, said, “This additional infusion of money will enable the NOACA – Vibrant NEO Coalition to continue to contribute to the economic development of a twelve-county region in Northeast Ohio.  Our one-year-old Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund has made loans for two projects intended to remediate sites for future mixed residential and commercial use, and we have already identified an exciting third project where cleanup will enable future industrial reuse.” 

“Uptown Consortium, Inc. (UCI) is excited and grateful to be a recipient of an EPA Brownfields Multipurpose Grant,” said President and CEO of UCI Beth Robinson. “This $1M award is a critical next step to assess, clean up and ultimately develop the Innovation Greenway in Avondale—part of UCI's broader effort to improve access and connectivity in Uptown Cincinnati and make it more pedestrian-friendly—benefitting the entire Southwest Ohio region.” 

“As the lead agency and applicant, the Washington County (Ohio) Board of Commissioners is grateful for the EPA's assistance in assessing properties that are well suited for redevelopment,” said The Washington County Board of Commissioners. “Turning around these underutilized sites will help change the trajectory of this area, bringing back jobs and people to live in desirable communities that are small, rural, and lack the resources to confront the challenges of redeveloping brownfields on their own."    

Many communities that are under economic stress, particularly those located in areas that have experienced long periods of disinvestment, lack the resources needed to initiate brownfield cleanup and redevelopment projects. As brownfield sites are transformed into community assets, they attract jobs, promote economic revitalization and transform communities into sustainable and environmentally just places. 

Thanks to the historic $1.5 billion boost from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA’s Brownfields program is helping more communities than ever before begin to address the economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by brownfields and stimulate economic opportunity, and environmental revitalization in historically overburdened communities. 

EPA’s Brownfields program advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative which set a goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. The Brownfields program strives to meet this commitment and advance environmental justice and equity considerations in all aspects of its work. Approximately 86% of the applications selected to receive funding proposed to work in areas that include disadvantaged communities. 

State Funding Breakdown: 

Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup Grant Program Selection 
The following organizations in Ohio have been selected to receive EPA Brownfields funding through the multipurpose, assessment, and cleanup grant program. 

• City of Barberton has been selected to receive $500,000 for a Brownfields assessment grant. Community-wide grant funds will be used to conduct 10 Phase I and 10 Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to identify and inventory additional brownfield sites with community input, prepare 10 cleanup and redevelopment plans, and conduct community engagement activities. The target area for this grant is the city's industrial corridor surrounding the Tuscarawas River. Priority sites on the west bank of the Tuscarawas River include former industrial and manufacturing facilities, a 10-acre junkyard, a former quarry, a former filling station, and an auto repair service shop. Priority sites on the west bank of the Tuscarawas River include a former nuclear technologies site and a former rubber reclaiming site. 
   
• Crawford Partnership for Education and Economic Development has been selected to receive $1,500,000 to inventory sites and conduct 39 Phase I and 23 Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to develop eight cleanup plans, three revitalization plans and community visioning sessions, one market study, and to support community engagement activities. Assessment activities will focus on the city of Bucyrus and the villages of New Washington and Crestline. Priority sites include two former gas stations and automotive service facilities, and a 1.6-acre former rubber manufacturing facility located in a high foot-traffic area. Non-lead coalition members include the city of Bucyrus and the village of Crestline. 
   
• Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corporation has been selected to receive $500,000 to clean up the proposed Hillson Nut Company expansion project site located at 3203 W. 71st Street in the city of Cleveland. The 1.3-acre cleanup site was originally developed for industrial purposes as early as 1903 with several textile and leather manufacturers and was later used as a warehouse with underground storage tanks (USTs), a chemical warehouse, and a towing company. The site is contaminated with volatile organic contaminants including petroleum constituents and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from leaking USTs, and heavy metals. Grant funds also will be used to conduct community engagement activities. 
   
• Harrison Township has been selected to receive $500,000 in community-wide grant funds to conduct 18 Phase I and 10 Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to identify and rank additional sites with the input of the community, conduct two visioning sessions and two site reuse assessments, prepare four cleanup plans, one revitalization plan, and one market study, and conduct community engagement activities. The target area for this grant is Harrison Township with a focus on the Wagner Ford/I-75 Interchange area and Forest Park Plaza. Priority sites include a former auto service and filling station, a former dry cleaner facility, and a former shopping center. 
   
• Uptown Consortium, Inc., Cincinnati has been selected to receive $1,000,000 to conduct eight Phase I and four Phase II environmental site assessments and conduct community engagement and cleanup planning activities. Assessment activities will focus on the priority site located at 515 Martin Luther King Drive. Grant funds also will be used to clean up the Innovation Greenway site at 3123/3125 Van Buren Avenue. The site was developed in 1904 as residential and commercial properties through 1922. Automotive repair shops and towing services operated on the site until 2017. The site is currently a grass-covered vacant lot contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons, metals, chlorinated volatile organic compounds, and volatile organic compounds. The target area for this project is the Uptown Innovation Corridor in the City of Cincinnati. 
   
• Washington County has been selected to receive $1,500,000 to inventory sites and conduct a minimum of 25 Phase I and 12 Phase II environmental site assessments. Grant funds also will be used to develop a minimum of five cleanup plans and area-wide plans and support community engagement activities. Assessment activities will focus on the Muskingum River Industrial Park in the village of Beverly, the D.O. Business Hall Center in the city of Cambridge, and the villages of Piketon and Beaver. Priority sites include a 60-acre former coal-fired power plant, a 140-acre parcel of mine-scarred land, and a former high school. Non-lead coalition members include the Pike County Board of Commissioners and the Cambridge-Guernsey County Community Improvement Corporation. 

You can read more about this year’s multipurpose, assessment, and cleanup grant selectees, visit EPA’s FY 2024  Multipurpose, Assessment and Cleanup Applicants webpage.  

Non-Competitive Supplemental Funding Through the Existing Revolving Loan Fund Grant Program 
Revolving loan fund grants provide funding for recipients to offer loans and subgrants to carry out cleanup activities at brownfield sites. The funding announced today will help communities continue to address the economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by brownfield sites. EPA is announcing $1 million in non-competitive supplemental funding to one successful existing revolving loan fund grant program that has already achieved success in its work to clean up and redevelop brownfield sites:  

• Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency has been selected to receive $1 million in addition to the $1 million in EPA funds already awarded. The recipient has a high-performing revolving loan fund which has successfully made its first loan with preparation for cleanup activity in progress. Projects highlighted for use include the Firestone Park Redevelopment and Philadelphia Rubber Works Building Redevelopment projects in Akron, Ohio. The BIL funding will extend the capacity of the program to provide funding for more cleanups in the most underserved areas in Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, and Wayne Counties. 

To see the list of revolving loan fund supplemental funding recipients visit EPA’s FY 2024  Multipurpose, Assessment and Cleanup Applicants webpage.  

To learn more about revolving loan fund technical assistance grant recipient visit EPA’s Brownfields Grow America webpage.   

Additional Background: 
EPA has selected these organizations to receive funding to address and support the reuse of brownfield sites to address the health, economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by brownfields. EPA anticipates making all the awards announced today once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied. 

EPA’s Brownfields program began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.7 billion in grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse. Prior to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this program made approximately $60 million available each year. Thanks to the President’s historic investments in America through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA has now increased that yearly investment nearly 400 percent. More than half of the funding available for this grant cycle (approximately $160 million) comes from the historic $1.5 billion investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This investment has also allowed the Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup grants’ maximum award amounts to increase significantly from $500,000 to a new maximum of $5 million per award.   

For more information on EPA’s Brownfields Program visit EPA’s Brownfields webpage. 

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