Resources
Updates, Information, and Guides About Brownfield Remediation and Revitalization Programs
Greater Ohio Policy Center (GOPC) is proud to serve as a trusted resource for anyone who is interested in learning more about brownfields and brownfield remediation and redevelopment opportunities in Ohio. Since 2021, we have utilized the Ohio Brownfields website as a one-stop shop with resources, updates, information, and guidance materials on not only the Brownfield Remediation Program, but all federal and state programs that can be utilized to revitalize and redevelop brownfield sites across the state.
Available Resources
Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program
The Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program (BRP) provides grants for the clean-up and remediation of brownfield sites. Remediation activities includes the acquisition of a brownfield, demolition performed at a brownfield, and the installation or upgrade of the minimum amount of infrastructure necessary to make a brownfield site operational for economic development activity, including the construction of housing.
Federal and State Programs
Beyond the BRP, the State of Ohio and federal government offer a variety of brownfield remediation programs, tools, and incentives that can assist Ohio communities clean-up and revitalize blighted brownfield sites.
Additional Research and Resources
There is a wealth of knowledge exists about the benefits of brownfield remediation and the best practices for public expenditure in brownfield clean-ups.
Frequently Asked Questions
Understanding what constitutes a brownfield, and how brownfields can be repurposed once clean-up work is completed. Information in this section has been gathered from a number of sources, including the Ohio & U.S. EPA.
Greater Ohio Policy Center Joins NBC 4’s Daytime Columbus
Greater Ohio Policy Center's Aaron Clapper and Jason Warner join the NBC 4 program Daytime Columbus to discuss our work advocating for brownfield remediation efforts and the impact this has had cleaning-up former industrial sites around the greater Columbus region.
This segment originally aired on Monday, April 15, 2024.
Ohio’s Brownfield Remediation Program
FY26 Brownfield Remediation Program Guidelines and Scoring Rubric
The Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program provides grants for the clean-up and remediation of brownfield sites. Remediation activities includes the acquisition of a brownfield, demolition performed at a brownfield, and the installation or upgrade of the minimum amount of infrastructure necessary to make a brownfield site operational for economic development activity, including the construction of housing. Changes made by the budget expand remediation activities to include demolition and infrastructure development costs associated with constructing, upgrading, or extending infrastructure necessary to make a brownfield operational.
On October 21st, 2025, the Ohio Department of Development released the program guidelines for the Brownfield Remediation Program. >>>>>
Legislative changes made to the BRP eliminated the first-come, first-serve granting process. Starting with grant awards in FY26, grants will be merit-based. ODOD has released the scoring rubric for FY26 grant applications for the BRP. >>>>>
Other Federal & State Programs
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The Ohio Water Development Authority (OWDA) created the Brownfield Loan Program in 1995 for the purposes of providing financial assistance for the undertaking of any “voluntary action” and thereby providing funding for the cleanup of contaminated property, through direct loans.
A direct fact sheet for the program is accessible here.
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The JobsOhio Revitalization Program offers loans and grants to companies to redevelop underutilized properties — both land and buildings — and put them back into productive use. This funding mitigates the financial risk and accelerates the speed at which sites are redeveloped. Eligible sites include brownfields.
Additional information on the program, which includes loans, grants, and dollars for Phase II assessments, is accessible on the JobsOhio website.
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In addition to the newly created Brownfield Remediation Fund, the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) operates the Ohio Brownfield Fund. The Ohio Brownfield Fund is a collection of funding sources that can be used to help plan, assess, and remediate brownfields throughout the state.
ODOD, in partnership with Ohio EPA and the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Underground Storage Tank Regulations (BUSTR), also has a resource to help clean up abandoned gas and service stations throughout Ohio.
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The Abandoned Gas Station Cleanup Grant provides funding to assess and clean up former gas and service stations with documented petroleum releases. Local government entities and land banks who own an eligible property or who have an agreement with the landowner may apply. The applicant and property owner cannot have contributed to the prior release of petroleum or other hazardous substances on the site.
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The Ohio EPA’s Ohio Brownfields section administers two brownfield assistance programs –Targeted Brownfield Assessment and Technical Assistance. Both programs purpose is to assist local government entities with their goal of transforming blighted properties into economic and community assets. Capitalized by a grant from United States Environmental Protection Agenda (USEPA), the brownfield assistance programs target community driven projects in need of property assessment and technical assistance. Eligible applicants include local government entities such as counties, cities, villages, townships, port authorities and county land banks.
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The Targeted Brownfield Assessment (TBA) program provides property assessment services at no cost to eligible applicants. SABR utilizes either in-house field staff or contractors to perform the requested assistance and the applicant receives a written report of the work performed.
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Voluntary Action Program (VAP) grant funding is available to cover costs associated with VAP technical assistance (TA). In general, the volunteer determines the scope of a VAP TA review and what questions or issues are evaluated. Exceptions include EIP or MOA reviews as the scopes for these are set by Ohio EPA policy.
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The USEPA has a number of resources and general information about brownfields available on their website.
Additional Resources & Research
There is a wealth of knowledge exists about the benefits of brownfield remediation and the best practices for public expenditure in brownfield clean-ups.
Turning Brownfields Into Jobfields
Carl Van Horn, K.A. Dixon, Greg Lawler and Dan Segal (1999), John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
Impact of Brownfields on Residential Property Values in Cincinnati
Oana Mihaescu and Rainer vom Hofe (April 2013), School of Planning, University of Cincinnati
Benefits of Public Investment in Brownfield Cleanup and Redevelopment
Nancy Frank, PhD, AICP (August 2014), University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee; Wisconsin Brownfields Study Group
Brownfield Redevelopment: Why Public Investments Can Pay Off
Zeenat Kotval-K (July 2016), Michigan State University
Brownfields 101: Informational Deck
GOPC has prepared an informational deck to touch upon brownfields, previous/current redevelopment work in Ohio, and GOPC's "Clean Ohio 2.0" vision for brownfields redevelopment in Ohio.
U.S. EPA Brownfields Program & Resources
EPA’s Brownfields Program provides grants and technical assistance to communities, states, tribes and others to assess, safely clean up and sustainably reuse contaminated properties.
Greater Ohio Summit 2017 - Brownfield Presentations
Check out slides and presentations from our 2017 Summit Brownfield panel.