The Morning Journal - EPA Grants Lorain County $600,000 for Brownfield Site Assessments

News Article

By Samah Assad

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Sept. 4 a $600,000 grant awarded to Lorain County that will go toward assessments of brownfield sites.

Susan Hedman, EPA Regional Administrator, was joined by Lorain County Commissioner Ted Kalo and U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur at Black River Landing and shared with residents the impact the grant would have on the county.

It will be used to conduct more than 40 environmental assessments and formulate four cleanup plans in Lorain, Avon Lake, Oberlin, North Ridgeville and the village of Wellington.

Lorain County is one of 171 communities across the country -- one of 12 in Ohio -- receiving brownfield grants this year.

"We know the brownfields in Northeast Ohio are extremely important," Kalo said. "Our focus is making these properties site ready. We want permanent jobs. We're going to save tax payers money and we're going to make Lorain County grow."

The grant will support the cleanup of brownfields so they can be put to productive use for those living in North Central Ohio communities.

The funds also will be used to develop site histories and collection of soil samples, form remedial action plans, as well as create a comprehensive inventory for government and private sector developers, Kalo said.

"These efforts will make the assessed properties more conducive for redevelopment while allowing us to leverage public and private financing," he said.

Kalo emphasized the county was awarded the grant in a competitive process that garnered applications from hundreds of government entities. He credited the win in part to Lorain County's active participation in the Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities' Consortium.

"... As a member, we recognize the importance of developing brownfields as a crucial component of revitalizing our county," he said.

Lorain resident John Wargo, who has lived in the city for about 70 years and considers himself an "activist" for the city's progression, said he attended the event to learn more about how the grant would affect the city.

Wargo said he also hopes one area won't be forgotten in the assessments: the Brush Beryllium plant that reportedly caused people to become ill and was closed in 1948. He cited the area as highly poisonous on the waterfront.

"We have to start using this brownfield money (to) get in there and take (the contaminants) out of there so we can open up our water front," he said. "Right now, (brownfields are) a sore spot, and it's going to be a sore spot."

Wargo said he believes the funding will impact the future of Lorain as developers will be more apt to build in cleaner areas.

Kaptur shared similar feelings in her speech, deeming Lorain as "an industrial muscle city inside a powerhouse of a county."

She said officials will assess which sites are the most ready for improvement to move forward.

"Without question, we are present in a place that is Lorain rising, rising from what was before to meet a new tomorrow," Kaptur said. "We're restoring this magnificent coast. With some of the recent challenges with fresh water, we know this is a step-off point to the largest body of fresh water on the face of the earth, and we have to protect it."

Hedman said it was fitting for the announcement to take place at the Landing as it was once an under-utilized, industrial site of a storage yard for rail cars and iron ores.

Hedman said the Lorain Port Authority was the recipient of an EPA grant in 2012 to complete a survey of asbestos at the former Carnegie Library located on West 10th Street in Streator Park, among other locations. This grant allowed the port to "reclaim and redevelop" the area, she said, which sees more than 200,000 people each year for concerts and festivals.

"The Black River Landing site is a brownfield redevelopment success story," she exclaimed.

"I'm confident that Lorain County will be able to use the grant that I'm announcing today (Sept. 4) for similar work to reclaim the brownfields."

Brownfield sites often lie vacant for years due to uncertainty of the extent of contamination and cleanup costs, Hedman said. By reclaiming these areas, this will not only improve environmental conditions, she continued, but strengthen the county's economy.

"The EPA brownfield assessment grants, like the one I'm announcing today, help to remove uncertainty about the extent of contamination, and that can make all the difference," she said.

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