News Releases from Region 05

EPA Announces $900,000 in Brownfield Grants to Help Ohio Communities Assess and Clean Up Contaminated Properties and Promote Economic Redevelopment

Brownfields Program helps return blighted properties to productive reuse

CHICAGO (April 25, 2018) – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has selected two communities in Ohio for Brownfields environmental Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup grants. The grants totaling $900,000 will provide communities with funding to assess, clean up and redevelop underutilized properties while protecting public health and the environment.

“EPA’s Brownfields Program expands the ability of communities to recycle vacant and abandoned properties for new, productive reuses, using existing infrastructure," said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. "These grants leverage other public and private investments, and improve local economies through property cleanup and redevelopment.”

“Clearly there is no shortage of creativity, innovation and ingenuity when it comes to brownfields redevelopment projects in the great State of Ohio,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator Cathy Stepp. “EPA looks forward to expanding our work with our partners to redevelop brownfields so they can once again be thriving parts of their communities – spurring local economies with jobs and new businesses as well as generating tax revenues and spending.”

The two grantees are:

• Lockland: The Village of Lockland will receive a $300,000 Brownfield assessment grant to investigate potential contamination as a first step in the process of redeveloping abandoned properties. The Village plans to bring new shopping options to Lockland’s residents who currently lack a nearby grocery store or restaurant. Properties to be investigated for potential soil and groundwater contamination include a former shingle factory and a bulk petroleum storage facility.
   
• Toledo: The city of Toledo will use its $600,000 Brownfield grant to investigate potentially contaminated lands along Swan Creek, the Ottawa and Maumee Rivers, and the mouth of Lake Erie. This is the city’s 23rd Brownfield grant, previous grants have generated more than $50 million in property cleanups and redevelopment. 

“On behalf of the Village of Lockland we are both honored and very appreciative of the announcement that we have received the U.S. EPA Assessment Grant,” said Village of Lockland Mayor Mark Mason Sr. “This grant will certainly help us make great strides in the villages continuing economic development efforts in bringing in new businesses into the Village of Lockland.”

“Toledo is fortunate to have a such a strong partnership with the U.S. EPA and much of Toledo’s Brownfield Redevelopment success can be directly related to that relationship,” Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said. “This $600,000 grant for environmental assessments is a great win for the people of Toledo. The U.S. EPA’s Brownfield programs have played an integral role in the city’s economic development and reclaiming land. Every area of our city has benefited from U.S. EPA assistance and we need more of these kinds of programs in the United States.”

“This will be the 20th grant from U.S. EPA to the city of Toledo over the 20-year history of the Brownfield Program and that is an amazing testament to the partnership between the city and the federal agency,” said Toledo Commissioner of Economic and Business Development Bill Burkett. “We are fortunate to have coalition partners like the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority and the Lucas County Land Bank, who work with us to find solutions for redevelopment.”

List of the FY 2018 Applicants Selected for Funding: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/applicants-selected-fy18-brownfields-assessment-revolving-loan-fund-and-cleanup-grants

For more information on the ARC grants: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/types-brownfields-grant-funding

For more information on EPA’s Brownfields program: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields

For more information on how Brownfields restoration has positively impacted local economies and the quality of life for neighboring communities: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-success-stories

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