Grant dollars to clean up local properties

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's office recently announced that it will award $61 million in grants to help communities across 75 counties clean up contaminated properties and prepare them for new use. This includes sites in the local area. The state's department of development is providing this funding through the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program, according to a news release from DeWine's office. "Sites like these do no good when they're left alone to contaminate the soil and impact the health of our neighborhoods," DeWine said. "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 across 87 counties. Funding from the program is designated for assessing and remediating industrial, commercial and institutional brownfield sites that are abandoned, inactive or underutilized due to known or suspected contamination by hazardous substances or petroleum. After remediation, these properties can be redeveloped to help revitalize neighborhoods and promote new economic growth, the release states. Where will work happen? Here is the list of projects in Hancock County that have received grant funding: • Hancock County Commissioners' Office, Bluffton, former Gas America assessment project received $98,000 for assessment. The project will complete Bureau of Underground Storage Tank Regulations environmental assessment activities following the removal of four underground storage tanks at a former gas station where a petroleum release was discovered beneath a dispenser island. The project involves an assessment, possible interim response actions and an evaluation to achieve a no-further-action status. Completing these steps will allow the site to be repurposed as support space for a nearby motel. • City of Findlay's former Lincoln Elementary School remediation project received nearly $664,000 for cleanup and remediation. The project will support asbestos abatement and selective demolition at Lincoln Elementary School in Findlay, which has been vacant since 2021. The cleanup includes asbestos removal and demolition to access materials. After remediation, the school will become a mixed-use space with 32 residential units, office, collaborative work space, retail and possibly a beer garden. The redevelopment aims to create 24 jobs, retain 28 positions and increase housing in Findlay's tight rental market, and boost neighborhood investment and revitalization. • City of Findlay's Tiffin Avenue Abandoned Gas Station assessment project received $238,000 for assessment. The project will remove underground storage tanks and conduct Tier 1 and 2 Bureau of Underground Storage Tank Regulations assessments at a long-abandoned former gas station. The project is expected to create 12 new jobs.