Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program: Grants, Match, and Cleanup

The Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program is a state grant program that pays to assess and clean up contaminated properties so they can be redeveloped. It is administered by the Ohio Department of Development, which made $88 million available for fiscal year 2026, with $1 million set aside for each of Ohio’s 88 counties.¹ Grants pay for removing hazardous substances and petroleum from abandoned, idle, or underused industrial, commercial, and institutional sites, with the goal of returning those properties to the tax rolls and to productive use.

Who Can Apply

Ohio Revised Code Section 122.6511 defines a “lead entity” — the only kind of applicant the program accepts — as a county, township, municipal corporation, port authority, conservancy district, park district, county land reutilization corporation, or for-profit organization.² Any of these can submit directly to the director of the Ohio Department of Development. That includes for-profit developers and businesses; the program is not limited to public bodies.

Public-private partnerships are still common, especially when a city wants to help clean up a privately owned parcel. In those cases the public entity is usually the primary grant recipient and enters a subrecipient agreement with the private partner. Program rules adopted under Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 122:31 spell out additional eligibility requirements the director may impose.³ Requirements can change from one funding round to the next, so applicants should review the current program guidelines before submitting.

What Qualifies as a Brownfield

The statute defines a brownfield as an abandoned, idle, or underused industrial, commercial, or institutional property where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by known or potential releases of hazardous substances or petroleum.² Former manufacturing plants, gas stations, dry cleaning facilities, and rail yards are typical examples. Contamination does not need to be confirmed at the time of application; credible potential based on historical use meets the definition.

The property must be in Ohio, and there must be documented evidence or reasonable suspicion of contamination. Sites already subject to a federal enforcement action or a state-mandated cleanup order generally will not qualify, because the program funds voluntary cleanups rather than work another legal obligation already compels. The program also covers “priority investment area eligible projects,” which include brownfields or former coal mines in designated areas being prepared for energy generation or battery storage.²

Grant Sizes and What They Cover

Funding falls into two categories. Assessment grants pay for Phase II Environmental Site Assessments — soil sampling, groundwater monitoring, and lab analysis to determine the type and extent of contamination — and can reach up to $300,000 per project. Cleanup and remediation grants cover the actual removal or neutralization of contaminants and can reach up to $10,000,000 per project.²

“Remediation” is defined broadly. It covers removal and disposal of hazardous substances or petroleum, but also property acquisition, demolition at the brownfield site, and the minimum infrastructure needed to make the property operational for economic development.² Property acquisition costs are capped at 10% of the total grant request and cannot exceed the county auditor’s assessed value of the property.

Eligible Costs

Eligible expenses include physical removal and off-site disposal of contaminated soil, asbestos abatement when the material poses a hazard during renovation or demolition, and groundwater treatment such as pump-and-treat systems or chemical injection. Demolition is reimbursable when necessary to reach contaminated soil beneath foundations. Hiring a certified professional to oversee the work and preparing No Further Action letters also qualify.

Ineligible Costs

The program excludes administrative costs tied to preparing the grant application and legal fees tied to application preparation or project implementation. Costs incurred before the grant agreement start date are not eligible, so retroactive reimbursement for work already completed is off the table. Site clearance activities like clearing vegetation, grubbing, and removing general solid waste are also excluded.⁴

Match Requirements

Each county has $1 million in reserved set-aside funds. Applications drawing on the county set-aside do not require a local cost match, which makes them attractive for smaller projects. Once a county’s set-aside is exhausted, remaining applications compete for statewide funds, and statewide awards require a 25% local match. The applicant must cover a quarter of the total project cost from other sources. Match can be cash, other grant funds, or documented prior investment in the property’s environmental assessment.

What You Need to Apply

Applications require substantial technical and legal documentation. At a minimum, you need a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment conducted under the ASTM E1527-21 standard, which identifies potential environmental concerns based on the property’s history and current conditions.⁵ If contamination is suspected or known, a Phase II assessment documenting the specific contaminants and their concentrations must also be included.

Cleanup grants also require a Remedial Action Plan with proposed methods, a timeline, and cost estimates for each phase of remediation. The application must include a redevelopment plan explaining the intended future use of the land, projected job creation, and estimated increases in property valuation. Clear maps and photographic documentation of current site conditions are standard. Proof of property ownership or a formal access agreement with the current owner is mandatory.

Applications are submitted through the Ohio Department of Development’s online portal. Funding rounds and deadlines change each fiscal year, so check the program page at development.ohio.gov for the current schedule before you begin assembling documentation.

How Awards Are Decided

The review process has shifted over the program’s life. Earlier rounds distributed county set-aside money first and then released remaining funds on a first-come, first-served basis. For fiscal year 2026, the program moved to a merit-based evaluation for statewide funds, so the quality and impact of the proposed project weigh more heavily than submission speed. County set-aside funds that go unclaimed still become available to projects statewide.

Department staff evaluate each application for completeness, adherence to program requirements, and the strength of the redevelopment plan. Award announcements typically come several months after the submission period closes. Successful applicants sign a formal grant agreement that sets reporting requirements, the reimbursement schedule, and the conditions for disbursing funds. Progress reports are required throughout the project.

Cleanup Standards and the No Further Action Letter

All remediation funded through the program must meet the cleanup standards of Ohio EPA’s Voluntary Action Program, governed by Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 3745-300.⁶ Those standards set numerical limits for hazardous substances and petroleum in soil, groundwater, and sediment, calibrated to the intended future use of the property. A site planned for residential use faces stricter thresholds than one earmarked for commercial or industrial activity.

A certified professional must oversee the investigation and remediation. When they conclude the property meets the applicable standards, they prepare a No Further Action letter in the format prescribed by the Voluntary Action Program.⁷ The letter describes the property’s environmental history, the contamination found, how it was investigated, and the remedial actions taken. It is the foundation for the liability protections that follow.

Liability Protection After Cleanup

Once cleanup is complete and a No Further Action letter is issued, the director of Ohio EPA can issue a Covenant Not to Sue. The covenant protects the property owner, operator, and future owners from state liability for further investigation or cleanup, as long as the property is used and maintained in the same manner as when the covenant was issued.⁸ For buyers and lenders, this protection is often what makes a former brownfield financially viable again.

The covenant is recorded with the county recorder’s office and attaches to the deed, so it transfers with ownership.⁹ The protection is not unconditional. If Ohio EPA audits the project and finds unresolved issues that are not corrected, the covenant can be revoked.

Activity and Use Limitations

When full cleanup to unrestricted use is not feasible, Ohio EPA imposes Activity and Use Limitations through an Environmental Covenant recorded with the deed. These restrictions cover land use, groundwater, disturbance, and construction.¹⁰ A common example is a bar on residential use of a site cleaned to commercial standards, or a prohibition on drilling wells into a groundwater plume that was contained rather than fully removed.

Ongoing Compliance

Properties subject to an Environmental Covenant carry permanent reporting obligations. The owner must submit written documentation to Ohio EPA by July 1 each year confirming that all activity and use limitations remain in place.¹⁰ Any instrument conveying an interest in the property must include notice of the limitations and the recorded location of the Environmental Covenant. When the property changes hands, the owner has 10 days to notify Ohio EPA with the new owner’s contact information. Ohio EPA and other designated holders keep the right to enter the property to verify compliance.

These obligations are easy to overlook during a sale. Buyers of remediated brownfield properties should check the county recorder’s office for recorded environmental covenants before closing, and sellers should factor the annual reporting requirement into their disclosures. Failing to keep use restrictions in place can jeopardize the Covenant Not to Sue that made the redevelopment viable to begin with.

Ohio EPA’s Supporting Role

The Department of Development administers the grant funding; Ohio EPA provides the technical backbone. Ohio EPA’s Division of Environmental Response and Revitalization offers technical review and support for program applications and coordinates Targeted Brownfield Assessments for local governments, which can provide no-cost Phase I and Phase II environmental assessments for eligible sites.¹¹ If contamination is suspected but unconfirmed, requesting a Targeted Brownfield Assessment before applying for a remediation grant can cut upfront cost and strengthen the eventual application with hard data.

Ohio EPA also oversees the Voluntary Action Program standards that govern all cleanups funded through the program, issues Covenants Not to Sue upon successful completion, and audits ongoing compliance with environmental covenants. The Ohio Water Development Authority runs a separate Brownfield Loan Program for sites that need financing beyond what the grant program covers.

1
Ohio Department of Development. Department of Development Announces Details for Upcoming Round of Brownfield Remediation Grants
2
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 122.6511 – Brownfield Remediation Program
3
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code Rule 122:31-1-01
4
Ohio Department of Development. Brownfield Remediation Program Guidelines
5
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Brownfields All Appropriate Inquiries
6
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 3745-300
7
Ohio EPA. Definition of a No Further Action Letter (NFA)
8
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental Response and Revitalization – Voluntary Action Program
9
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Voluntary Action Program Fact Sheet
10
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. RR Environmental Covenant Template
11
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Ohio Brownfields