EPA awards $2.8M for cleanup

6/16/2004

The city of Toledo and Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority will receive a $2.4 million federal award so former industrial and commercial sites can be cleaned up and used again, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) announced yesterday.

It was the largest award to a municipality out of $75.4 million in U.S. EPA brownfield grants. The award includes $2 million for a revolving loan fund, allowing developers, even community development corporations, to borrow money at zero or low interest rates to clean up brownfields.

The rest of the grant will be used to assess the environmental condition at the former Girard Foundry, the former Riverside Mercy Hospital, and the site of the former Cook's store in North Toledo.

The city and port authority have cooperated for several years on brownfields, said Jim Mettler, port authority director of strategic initiatives.

In addition, the U.S. EPA will award $400,000 to Adrian to assess brownfield sites for hazardous substances and petroleum contaminants. The grant is the first U.S. EPA award to Adrian, said Carol Konieczki, community development director. "It puts us on the map and makes us more attractive to [businesses] wondering where we are," she said.