EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfield sites. A brownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act of 2002, as amended by the Brownfields Utilization, Investment and Local Development Act of 2018, was passed to help states and communities around the country clean up and revitalize brownfield sites. Under this law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through five competitive grant programs: Multipurpose Grants, Assessment Grants, Revolving Loan Fund Grants, Cleanup Grants, and Job Training Grants. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.
$797,437
EPA has selected the Port of Greater Cincinnati Development Authority, which is doing business as The Port, for a Brownfields Multipurpose Grant. Grant funds will be used to conduct 12 Phase I and seven Phase II environmental site assessments, prepare a Community Involvement Plan, and conduct other community outreach activities. Grant funds also will be used to clean up the Former Reliable Castings site at 3530 Spring Grove Road in Cincinnati, Ohio, which historically operated as an aluminum foundry from 1921-2021 and has been vacant since. The target area for this project is the Mill Creek Corridor along I-75 in Hamilton County, which includes many abandoned manufacturing facilities, abandoned properties, and neighborhoods in decay. Mill Creek was used as a wastewater discharge point, which resulted in the Mill Creek watershed being designated as the most endangered urban river in North America.