News Releases from Region 05

EPA Brownfields Funding Announced for Roseville, Newark, Norwalk, Painesville, Piqua, Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority, Youngstown and Southern Ohio Port Authority

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 31, 2017

CHICAGO – Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency selected 172 communities and organizations across the country, including Newark, Norwalk, Painesville, Piqua, Youngstown, the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority, the Freddie J. Dixon Foundation and the Southern Ohio Port Authority in Ohio, to receive funding for brownfields site revitalization to help local governments redevelop vacant and unused properties, transforming communities and local economies.

“EPA is committed to working with communities to redevelop Brownfields sites which have plagued their neighborhoods. EPA’s Assessment and Cleanup grants target communities that are economically disadvantaged and include places where environmental cleanup and new jobs are most needed," said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. "These grants leverage considerable infrastructure and other investments, improving local economies and creating an environment where jobs can grow. I am very pleased the President’s budget recognizes the importance of these grants by providing continued funding for this important program.”

The following communities and organizations in Ohio were selected to receive funding:

• The city of Newark was selected to receive a $300,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant to investigate environmental conditions at properties with redevelopment potential in the Mount Vernon/4th Street Corridor and along Union Street.  Newark used a previous Brownfields Assessment Grant for the $5 million conversion of a warehouse into the Farmers Market.
• The Freddie Dixon Foundation was selected to receive a $200,000 Brownfields Cleanup Grant to remediate lead-contaminated soil at the former Ungemach Pottery site located in the Roseville business district.  Upon completion of cleanup, the site will be used temporarily by local government while it is marketed for private, economic development.
• The Southern Ohio Port Authority was selected to receive a $300,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant to focus its redevelopment efforts on Portsmouth’s oldest and most densely populated industrial area known as the Central Ohio River Terminal Corridor.
• The city of Norwalk was selected to receive a $300,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant to target sites in the West Side neighborhood and the Business Corridor.  Previous EPA brownfields grants to Norwalk funded assessments for several sites including the Home Lumber Property in the Business Corridor, which may become the location of a new fire station.
• The city of Youngstown was selected to receive a $200,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant to collaborate with community partners to inventory, prioritize, assess and plan for the development of former gas stations on major streets.
• The city of Piqua was selected to receive a $200,000 Brownfields Cleanup Grant to remove asbestos and lead-based paint from the building located at 111 S. Main St.  When cleanup is completed the site will be made available for the development of businesses that support and draw customers from visitors to the Great Miami Recreational Trail. 
• The city of Painesville was selected to receive a $300,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant to continue its brownfields redevelopment efforts. Painesville has successfully completed dozens of environmental investigations and redevelopment projects through two previous brownfields grants including redevelopment of the former East Lake Hospital property in the downtown district.
• The Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority was selected to receive a $300,000 Brownfields Assessment Grant to focus its redevelopment efforts in multiple neighborhoods adjacent to the Mill Creek Valley Industrial and the 75/Inner-City Highway Industrial corridors.

Studies have shown that residential property values near brownfields sites that are cleaned up increased between 5 and 15 percent and can increase property values in a 1.24-mile radius of that site. A study analyzing data near 48 brownfields sites shows an estimated $29 million to $97 million in additional tax revenue was generated for local governments in a single year after cleanup. This is two to seven times more than the $12.4 million EPA contributed to those brownfields.

As of May 2017, more than 124,759 jobs and $24 billion of public and private funding have been leveraged as a result of assessment grants and other EPA brownfields grants. On average, $16.11 was leveraged for each EPA brownfields dollar and 8.5 jobs leveraged per $100,000 of EPA brownfields funds expended on assessment, cleanup, and revolving loan fund cooperative agreements.

List of the FY 2017 Applicants Selected for Funding: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-list-fy17-grants-selected-funding

About EPA’s brownfields program: https://epa.gov/brownfields.

Successful brownfields stories: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-success-stories.