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Cuyahoga County Executive Announces $500,000 In Environmental Clean-Up Funding

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Contacts:
Jeane’ Holley: (216) 698-2544, (216) 640-0821 or jholley@cuyahogacounty.us


CLEVELAND –Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish announced today that the Cuyahoga County Department of Development will receive $500,000 in Supplemental USEPA Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund (BRLF) funds for critical clean-up projects in County communities.

Since its initial award to the County in 1997, the USEPA’s Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund has been an essential part of the redevelopment of 18 brownfield sites throughout the County. Clean-ups have totaled over 150 acres, have created and/or retained over 2,200 jobs, and leveraged over $450 million in redevelopment.

The BRLF award will continue the County’s efforts in providing unique and effective solutions to brownfield redevelopment, assisting the environmental remediation of various redevelopment sites throughout the County. These sites include vacant properties located along the Health Tech and Opportunity Corridors within the City of Cleveland as well as redeveloping key contaminated sites in our aging suburban communities.

“We are extremely pleased to be the recipient of this major $500,000 USEPA award to be utilized for our Brownfield Revolving Loan clean-up program,” said Budish. “Revitalization of our underutilized assets in land and property is a top priority of my administration. Not only are these sites eventually remediated and redeveloped for the creation of jobs, but environmental justice is served by eliminating deleterious health effects for our communities and their residents.”

"EPA’s brownfield programs help the communities of Cuyahoga County revitalize distressed properties, improve public health, create jobs and boost local economic opportunities," said Region 5 Acting Superfund Director Douglas Ballotti. “EPA’s funds often make the difference that helps leverage private sector resources to make clean-ups and reuse of properties possible.”

Former BRLF projects leading to major clean-ups, redevelopments, and quality of life improvements have included, the Flats East Bank mixed-use neighborhood, the Dike 14 nature preserve, and redevelopment sites throughout Cleveland and the inner-ring suburbs such as Lakewood and Richmond Heights.

In addition to BRLF-funded projects, the County also has been very active in funding numerous other environmental assessments and brownfield remediations through brownfield bond funds, Clean Ohio funds and other federal revolving loan funds. To date, we have assessed 185 sites comprised of over 4,138 acres in 25 communities County wide. The County has funded the actual cleanup of 34 of these sites. Of the 185 sites assessed, 86 have moved forward in development with additional private funding leveraged at $550 million.

  
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