CINCINNATI -- The City of Cincinnati was awarded a $500,000 Brownfield Assessment grant from the US EPA to complete a brownfield inventory, environmental site assessments, clean-up plans, and re-use planning for sites in the Lower Mill Creek valley. Sites for assessment will be determined through community engagement, and will be focused in the neighborhoods of Lower Price Hill, South Fairmount, North Fairmount, English Woods, South Cumminsville, Millvale, Camp Washington, Queensgate, and Northside. Community engagement in the grant and assessment process is expected to begin later this year. 

This grant award is in addition to the nearly $800,000 award to the Port for a Multipurpose grant from the US EPA to complete assessments and clean-up of sites in the Mill Creek Corridor. The Port was also awarded nearly $16 million from the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) for Brownfield assessments and clean-ups and nearly $17 million for demolition for sites within Cincinnati in 2023. A full list of projects awarded in the city from ODOD grants can be found here.

The press conference announcing the grant awards can be viewed here.

At the state level, Ohio renewed Brownfield and Demolition funding in the FY24-25 budget. The Ohio State budget signed on July 3, 2023 will include $350 million for the Brownfield Remediation Program and $150 million for the Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program. The Brownfield program awards grants to assess, clean-up, and redevelop environmentally contaminated sites for productive use. The Demolition program awards grants for the demolition of commercial and residential buildings and revitalization of surrounding properties on sites that are not brownfields. The grant program will be administered by the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD). Changes to the process require the lead entity for Cincinnati to be the Hamilton County Land Bank. The grant application process and deadlines have not yet been announced.