Findlay may take more steps on riverfront concerns

FINDLAY — Findlay may step up efforts to reassure residents about plans to build a downtown recreation area along a stretch of the Blanchard River that was once used as a dumping ground. Questions about environmental contamination along the riverfront resurfaced earlier this month as Findlay City Council prepared to vote on legislation to accept ownership of four more properties purchased by the Hancock County Board of Commissioners as part of the local flood mitigation effort. At the Aug. 17 regular meeting of council, City Auditor Jim Staschiak advised council to table the legislation and to request that the ordinance be rewritten to include documentation of environmental contamination, if any exists, on each of the parcels, including any remediation work. "You should have knowledge of it on a parcel-by-parcel basis. The second thing that you need to know and be aware of, and I talked about it in one of my presentations to this group, is that you have absolutely zero environmental insurance. You can't get it," said Staschiak. "So any environmental issues that you acquire unintentionally are going to come out of your pocket, or you will have to seek alternative funding." However, Councilman Dan DeArment, R-4, said council members don't have the technical background needed to read through environmental evaluations of the sites. "I just don't think that's our place. That's why we hire environmental consultants. ... They're the experts. They're putting their credibility on the line signing off on it. That's their job. I mean, it's not our job to review all of these reports," DeArment said. Council voted 8-1 to accept ownership of the parcels, with Councilman Dan Delong, R-7, opposed, and Councilman Brad Wagner, R-at-large, absent. During the debate, Mayor Christina Muryn said the riverfront properties have undergone environmental evaluations and remediation to remove contaminants. The work will also undergo a review by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency as part of its Technical Assistance Grant (TAG) awarded to Findlay in late 2025. The EPA's review will also provide the paperwork needed by the city should it decide to file for a "No Further Action" determination, Muryn said. TAG provides funding or direct expert support so a community can get independent, professional help interpreting environmental data, cleanup plans and regulatory requirements. It's meant to help non‑experts understand what consultants and agencies are doing at a site. An NFA letter is a core part of Ohio's Voluntary Action Program. The document confirms a site meets the standard, in this case, "commercial land use with high-frequency child exposure," and that no additional environmental work is required. The city could then submit the NFA letter to the Ohio EPA and seek a "covenant not to sue," which would release Findlay from future state cleanup liability. In an email exchange with The Courier on Aug. 18, Muryn said she believes the city will pursue the NFA. She said the additional oversight by the Ohio EPA and the NFA letter should help reassure the public about the environmental conditions along the river in the downtown. The document would be prepared by Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc., Toledo (CEC). NFAs are typically expensive, often ranging from $50,000 to more than $300,000 depending on site complexity. In 2023, the city hired CEC to perform an independent review of environmental conditions along the riverfront. The firm found contamination present throughout the property. In 2025, the Hancock County commissioners then hired CEC to handle environmental evaluation and mitigation work tied to the second phase of river benching. The county used an $850,000 state brownfield grant to remove contaminated soil east and west of Main Street along the north bank of the Blanchard River — work located within the Phase 2 benching footprint. The environmental remediation work was completed between December 2025 and February 2026 and focused on areas identified through environmental testing. Contaminants addressed included lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons tied to historic industrial use. About 7,325 tons of impacted soil, 1,070 tons of glass fill material and 432 tons of asphalt were removed during the remediation, all of which were excavated and transported to the Hancock County Landfill. Some glass material remains on the site and will be removed during benching. In an email exchange on Aug. 20, CEC representative Mike Coonfare said the county's 2025 contract for the remediation work did not include preparation of an NFA letter. Coonfare said an NFA letter was intentionally excluded from the contract because Phase 2 benching will remove tens of thousands of cubic yards of soil, drastically altering site conditions and effectively nullifying any environmental findings. Coonfare said the city, as the "volunteer" under the Ohio Voluntary Action Program, may elect to pursue an NFA now, but the letter cannot be drafted until benching is complete and new sampling supports it. He said the city's Technical Assistance Grant with the Ohio EPA allows the agency to review documents ahead of an eventual filing, making the process more efficient. The NFA letter, however, will most likely not be available before the property from the Phase 2 benching transfers from the county to city ownership, Muryn said. But she said the overall environmental condition of that stretch of river will be known. Muryn said according to a memorandum of understanding between the city, the Maumee Conservancy District, Defiance, and the Hancock County commissioners, all of the Phase 2 benching parcels will be placed on a single deed and transferred to the city at the same time once the second leg of river benching is complete. Concerns about environmental liabilities halted the transfer of 71 properties affected by the second leg of benching to the city in 2023. Coonfare said he has not been asked to prepare an NFA for the Phase 1 benching area. Phase 1 benching, completed in 2018-19, widened roughly 3,500 feet of the north bank between the Norfolk Southern railroad bridge and Broad Avenue. The work increased the river's capacity and is expected to lower the Blanchard River by 0.8 feet in the downtown during a 100-year storm. Phase 2 benching will widen the north bank of the Blanchard River between Cory Street and the CSX Railroad, improving flow conveyance through downtown. The project is expected to reduce flood levels by 0.2 feet during a 100-year storm. The conservancy district awarded a contract for the second leg of benching on July 14. Helms & Sons Excavating, Findlay, won the $3.7 million contract. Construction had been estimated at $6 million, the same price as Phase 1. Money from a $24 million Federal Emergency Management Agency Flood Mitigation Assistance grant will pay for the work. Most of the benching property will be part of the proposed "Downtown North River Development Project." The recreational area is being designed to exist within the Blanchard River's flood zone. It includes public properties on North Main Street, Clinton Court, Jefferson Street, Taylor Street, Meeks Avenue, Meeks Court and North Cory Street. In all, the recreational area would cover about 19 acres on the north side of the river. Cory Street will be the westernmost boundary of the park, and to the east, the park will end at the railroad tracks. It will stretch from the Blanchard River north to Clinton Court. The park is expected to cost between $30.4 and $37.8 million in "2027 dollars," with an additional $4.5 million in engineering fees. Historically, riverfront property was used as a dumping ground, even by the city. For example, Civitan Park, 100 Taylor St., was backfilled with "municipal waste" in the 1930s, after the Blanchard River was rerouted through the city, according to the records. Environmental records held by the city show that property along the river was riddled with abandoned/orphaned tanks, drums, and household hazardous waste associated with debris from the flood of August 2007. Businesses once located in the area included a dry cleaner, junkyard, gas station and machine shop.