Recently, the Clean Ohio Council proposed a major program overhaul to the Clean Ohio Fund. The proposal would combine Clean Ohio’s Revitalization Fund and Assistance Fund into a single incentive program with the intention of streamlining the “process for funding brownfield projects,” according to a press release from the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD). Clean Ohio, which provides funding to help brownfield projects acquire property, demolish structures, conduct environmental cleanup and improve infrastructure, will manage the single brownfield incentive program in collaboration with JobsOhio and the Ohio Department of Development’s Office of Redevelopment, the release said.
If the proposal is passed, JobsOhio and its regional network partners would initially accept all funding requests and would evaluate a project’s economic benefit for funding. If the project meets the evaluation criteria, JobsOhio would refer a Clean Ohio grant recommendation to the director of development or to the Clean Ohio Council for review and potential approval, the release said. “Up to $1 million would be available per project for cleanup activities and $200,000 per project would be available for environmental assessment activities,” the release said. Additional funding would also be available through ODOD’s Brownfield Loan Program. The council is also proposing doing away with specific grant funding rounds and instead allowing these funds to be available on a rolling basis. For more on the proposed Clean Ohio Fund program changes, read the press release.
