On July 3, Governor DeWine signed the FY24-25 Main Operating Budget, following the passage by the General Assembly last week. The FY24-25 Budget includes an additional $350 million for the Brownfield Remediation Program. This program provides grant dollars to assess, clean-up, and redevelop environmentally contaminated sites into productive use; and is a slight evolution of the Brownfield Remediation Fund which operated from 2021 to 2023.
As the State’s lead brownfield advocate, GOPC commends the legislature for its leadership in funding this highly successful program at level funding. Brownfield advocates – from local changemakers to private sector partners – were instrumental in advocacy efforts, and GOPC extends sincere appreciation to all who provided testimony, contacted legislators, and elevated brownfields as a policy priority in the budget.
While the $350 million for the program remains, there are some administrative changes to the program enacted in the FY24-25 budget. The Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) will continue to administer the program and will likely announce timelines and any rule changes in the near future. In the interim, here are the known programmatic changes, as enacted in the budget:
Applications will be accepted by a lead applicant, designated for each county
For counties with a population of 100,000 or less, the County Commission Board will recommend a lead applicant to ODOD.
For Counties with a population of 100,000 or more, the County Land Reutilization Corporation (Land Bank) will serve as the lead applicant (if a Land Bank operates in the County).
If the County with a population of 100,000 or more does not have a Land Bank, the County Commission Board will recommend a lead applicant to ODOD.
The $350 million will be split ($175 million per year) over the two years of the biennium. For each fiscal year, $1 million will be set aside per county. Each fiscal year, $87 million of the $175 million will be available for competitive granting operating in the first-come, first-serve structure.
GOPC looks forward to advocating for additional rules and programmatic guidelines to ensure the Brownfield Remediation Program remains a successful program. The initial investment of $350 million in 2021 was oversubscribed, with all grants awarded within the first year of the program.
As additional information on the program becomes available, GOPC will continue to update the OhioBrownfields.com website.