State should aid Youngstown in cleaning up industrial sites

When the Mahoning Valley was shortchanged this year in the distribution of state dollars for the restoration of old industrial sites, called brownfields, officials in Columbus suggested that local communities did not have projects that were ready to go. The state had better not use the same excuse next year. There will be projects from Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties, including one from Youngstown that certainly meets the definition in the Clean Ohio initiative voters approved through the passage of a $400 million bond issue.
The city wants to clean up the former Aeroquip and Youngstown Business Materials properties on the North Side and will seek funding from the $200 million pool for brownfields. As a first step, environmental studies will be performed to determine how much removal of hazardous materials such as asbestos and PCBs is needed. Then, the sites will be restored.
Why should the state get involved in such a project? Because Gov. Bob Taft and his department of development are well aware that about 7,000 acres of land in the tri-county area need some level of cleanup and that Youngstown has been a trendsetter in the restoration of old industrial sites.
It was during the tenure of former Mayor Patrick J. Ungaro that the city received national acclaim for transforming such land into industrial parks. That initiative also grabbed the attention of state officials and in November 2000 Ohio voters were asked to approve a $400 million bond issue to create the Clean Ohio Fund. A subsequent bill, with Rep. Charles Blasdel, R-East Liverpool, as the chief sponsor, provided for $200 million to be spent on brownfield cleanup, $175 million on greenspace preservation and $25 million on farmland preservation.
Governor's view
In campaigning for the passage of State Issue 1, the governor came to the Mahoning Valley and urged area residents to vote "yes." Taft noted that the region "is intimately familiar with the need for resources to clean up abandoned industrial sites."
This year, however, only one project received funding. The brownfield money is awarded on a competitive basis. On the other hand, $1.4 million was approved for seven greenspace projects in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties. That money is distributed regionally through a formula.
While state officials are right in contending that it is up to tri-county area to submit brownfield projects that are competitive, we would remind the 13 members of the Clean Ohio Council that the Valley has long suffered the consequences of the state and national governments not requiring companies that abandon communities to tear down factory buildings and restore the land to acceptable environmental standards.
More than 20 years after the collapse of the steel industry in the Valley, the remnants of steel-making facilities can still be found.
That's why the restoration of the Aeroquip and YBM sites must be a priority for the state. The city owns both properties and has already spent $3 million cleaning up about half the Aeroquip site. It doesn't have the money to complete the work.