Governor/ODOD Announce Brownfield Grants

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) – Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Development Director Lydia Mihalik on February 19 announced approximately $50 million in grant funding is now available to help communities across the state clean up contaminated properties and prepare them for redevelopment.

The funding will be awarded as part of the Brownfield Remediation Program, which was launched by the DeWine Administration in 2021. The program helps communities clean up industrial, commercial, and institutional brownfield sites that are abandoned, idled, or underutilized due to a known or potential release of hazardous substances or petroleum. 

“Cleaning up and revitalizing these properties opens the door for new businesses, safer housing, and better job opportunities,” said Governor DeWine. “From the first dollar we awarded through this program to now, we’ve given our communities the resources they need to build a stronger future.” 

Since the program’s inception, the Department of Development has awarded $657.5 million to support 630 projects in 86 counties. 

“Many communities have brownfield sites that are too costly to clean up on their own,” said Director Mihalik. “We are helping bridge that gap, empowering our local partners to transform these sites into fresh spaces for new businesses, housing, and economic growth.”

Projects that assess or remediate brownfield properties are eligible for funding. Each county has designated a lead entity which may apply for funding on behalf of the county. 

The Brownfield Remediation Program is part of Governor Mike DeWine’s Ohio BUILDS Initiative, which focuses on supporting targeted solutions that impact quality of life, such as water infrastructure improvements, broadband expansion, brownfield redevelopment, and the demolition of blighted buildings. 

Applications are open from now through 4 p.m. March 21. However, due to the limited funding availability, the application portal will close once grant requests reach $125 million. Applications will be reviewed in the order in which they are received. Not all applications will receive funding. The maximum grant award per application is $2.5 million.

Here in Belmont County, working with the Belmont County Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) and its director Crystal Lorimor, the village of Bellaire completed a Brownfield Assessment and has received funding in previous grant rounds for work including a project adjacent to the Great Stone Viaduct.

Locally, the village of Barnesville and Barnesville School District is currently working on a similar assessment project that got underway last fall.