DeWine announces $61 million in brownfield remediation grants
COLUMBUS – Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jim Tressel, and Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik this week announced $61 million in grants to help communities in 75 counties clean up contaminated properties and prepare them for new life.
The Department of Development is awarding this funding as part of the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program. Today’s announcement includes $45.8 million for 84 cleanup and remediation projects and $15.3 million for 76 assessment projects.
“Sites like these do no good when they’re left alone to contaminate the soil and impact the health of our neighborhoods,” said Governor DeWine. “Throughout the past five years, we’ve changed the trajectory of hundreds of properties that once held our communities back, turning long-neglected eyesores into places of possibility.”
Since its launch in 2021, the Brownfield Remediation Program has provided nearly $780 million to support 841 projects in 87 counties.
"Any time we're able to take a forgotten property and give it new life, it opens the door to new opportunities for the people who call that community home," said Lt. Governor Tressel. "When we transform these sites, we're investing in stronger local economies, stronger neighborhoods, and a stronger future for communities across Ohio."
“The Brownfield Remediation Program continues to show what’s possible when state and local partners come together with a shared vision for a better future,” said Director Mihalik. “By working alongside local leaders to clean up and prepare these sites for redevelopment, we’re helping remove long-standing barriers to progress and unlock new opportunities for our communities and the great people who call them home.”
Area projects include:
• Highland County Land Reutilization Corporation (Highland County)
Project Name: Former Belfast Gas Station
$164,700
Assessment
This project will demolish several collapsed structures, locate former UST cavities, and confirm whether remaining tanks are present, completing BUSTR-compliant closure activities as needed. The work will also include soil and groundwater sampling to address potential petroleum impacts. The cleanup will prepare the prominent intersection site for new commercial uses, supporting local economic activity and potentially creating five new jobs.
• Highland County Land Reutilization Corporation (Highland County)
Project Name: Former East Main Shell
$222,666
Assessment
This project will advance Voluntary Action Program assessment activities at a long-vacant
former gas station and auto repair facility where undocumented underground storage tank
removals, potential petroleum releases, and multiple historic investigative areas indicate
likely soil and groundwater impacts. Planned work includes health and safety planning, UST
closure, BUSTR reporting, and soil and groundwater evaluation to prepare the site for
mixed-use or light commercial redevelopment. The project is expected to create five new
jobs.
• Highland County Land Reutilization Corporation (Highland County)
Project Name: Former Baxla Gas Station
$117,128
Assessment
This project will complete a geophysical survey and BUSTR Tier 1 source investigation at a
former gas station property where multiple suspected underground storage tanks, monitoring
wells, and past petroleum releases indicate potential contamination. Assessment findings will
support development of a remediation plan and future commercial redevelopment of a
long-vacant corner site.
• Highland County Land Reutilization Corporation (Highland County)
Project Name: Former Spruance Gas Station
$150,452
Assessment
This project will assess a long-vacant former gas station and trailer park site, including
geophysical surveying, asbestos inspection, Phase II sampling, and proper removal of
building debris and waste. The work will evaluate potential BUSTR-regulated petroleum
impacts and prepare the site for future commercial or industrial redevelopment that could
support community economic growth. The project is expected to create 10 new jobs.
• Adams County Land Reutilization Corporation (Adams County)
Project Name: 7517 State Route 41
$440,000
Cleanup/Remediation
This project will abate asbestos and demolish a deteriorated 8,886-sq-ft former school
building constructed in 1947. Remediation will remove asbestos-containing materials,
universal waste, and the unsafe building, enabling the township to expand an adjacent
community park and eliminate a blighted site.
• Adams County Land Reutilization Corporation (Adams County)
Project Name: Stout Former Gas Station
$300,000
Assessment
This project will assess and begin the BUSTR-regulated closure process for a long-abandoned
former gas station containing two suspected underground storage tanks, a deteriorated
dispenser, and dilapidated structures. The assessment will determine the extent of
contamination.
• Brown County Land Reutilization Corporation (Brown County)
Project Name: ABCAP Property
$300,000
Assessment
This project will support environmental assessment and underground storage tank
investigation activities at the ABCAP Property in Brown County, a former school site now
occupied by community action and social service operations. Once complete, the project will
help position the property for future expansion of community action programs, including
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) services, affordable housing, administrative offices, and
additional supportive social services.
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