The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded a CERCLA Section 128(a) State and Tribal Response Program Grant (CFDA 66.817) totaling $884,523 to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) on October 1, 2024. The primary objectives of this Project Grant are to:
Establish or enhance the four statutory elements of an effective state brownfields response program, as specified in CERCLA Section 128(a)(2);
Maintain and update a public record of brownfield sites with completed or planned response actions; and
Conduct a limited number of brownfield site assessments or cleanups to help strengthen Ohio EPA's response program.
Under this grant, Ohio EPA will oversee and perform planning, assessment, and cleanup activities at brownfield sites across the state. Specific deliverables include expanding public outreach for Ohio EPA's Voluntary Cleanup Program, assessing 25-30 sites through the State Targeted Brownfield Assessment Program, and providing downtown reuse and brownfield action/vision plans for the Villages of Bellaire and Shadyside, respectively. No federal grant sub-awards are included in this assistance agreement.