Wednesday, October 23, 2002
An ordinance before city council would authorize filing the grant application.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The city plans to apply for a grant from the Ohio Department of Development for the Mahoningside cleanup project.
The city had planned to have cleanup of the Summit Street site done by the fall, but that plan encountered difficulties.
The city had planned to remove contaminants at the site, place them at a certified landfill, and demolish buildings and refill the basement area with soil that is within acceptable contamination levels and encapsulate it, said David J. Robison, director of the city's engineering, planning and building department.
Problem
Robison said the city had filed for an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency permit and paid a fee to do that and OEPA approved the application.
"We've been doing what they've asked all along," said Mayor Hank Angelo.
When PCBs were found in the basement, the U.S. EPA got involved.
"We feel that as a result of some of their actions, contaminants got on the piles that we had already removed," Robison said.
The agencies now want the city to remove the soil piles from the site, dispose of them properly, and bring in clean soil to fill in the basement areas. That's a more expensive course of action than what the city had planned.
"Our position has been, 'You should have told us that in the first place,'" Robison said. "We could have planned for it from the beginning and now we don't have the money."
Grant application
An ordinance before city council tonight would authorize the administration to apply for Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund assistance through the Ohio Department of Development.
Clean Ohio Revitalization funds come from the Clean Ohio Fund approved by Ohio voters in 2000. Voter approval enabled the state to use $200 million for brownfield redevelopment activities and $200 million for green space preservation.
The estimated cost to completely remove and properly dispose of all contaminants at the site, demolish the remaining building, backfill the basement area and complete grading and seeding is about $2.25 million.
Robison said money already allocated for the city, about $750,000, would be used as a local match for the grant. About $3.1 million in state and federal funds has been spent on the Mahoningside cleanup so far, but the project hasn't involved general fund money.
Robison said OEPA has agreed to help the city pursue the Clean Ohio Revitalization Funds.
Kara Allison, an OEPA spokeswoman, said the agency has advised the city on where to seek funds to clean up the site and provided technical assistance during the cleanup process.
Robison said the city would continue to work with the Ohio and U.S. EPAs to resolve the issue of contaminated soil allowed to be used as backfill for the basement areas to complete the project.
dick@vindy.com