Governor Mike DeWine is sending $15.5 million in state brownfield grants to 35 Ohio counties, and a slice of that money is headed for long-idle, possibly toxic properties in and around Greater Cincinnati. The new awards will pay for environmental studies, polluted soil and groundwater removal, and other work meant to turn stagnant sites in Brown, Clermont and Highland counties into land that can actually be built on again.
State awards and the funding breakdown
The Ohio Department of Development is carving up this round of cash into two main buckets. Nearly $8.4 million is going to 22 cleanup and remediation projects, while about $7.1 million is earmarked for 41 environmental assessment projects. Since the brownfield program launched in 2021, the state has pumped nearly $800 million into more than 900 remediation and assessment efforts, according to a governor’s office release reproduced by Highland County Press.
Local projects getting money
In the Cincinnati region, the Clermont County Land Reutilization Corporation landed $400,000 to clean up the former New Richmond bus garage, work that includes demolition plus the removal of contaminated soil and groundwater. The goal is to clear the way for public parking that will support the Liberty Landing riverfront redevelopment.
Brown County’s land reutilization corporation pulled in three environmental assessment grants totaling $700,000 for an old tire shop, the Triangle property at 449 W. State St., and a former lumber yard. Highland County is getting two assessment grants totaling $343,730 to evaluate the former Elliott Hotel and a machine shop in Greenfield, WKRC Local 12 reports.
How the brownfield program works
The Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program sets aside up to $1 million in county-level funds and then uses a merit-based scoring system to decide which applications rise to the top. Eligible costs cover the unglamorous but crucial early work, including Phase I and Phase II site assessments, asbestos and hazardous materials surveys, and remedial action planning.
Grant agreements typically expire one year after the announcement date. Before money is locked in, applicants have to prove they can legally access the property and sign a “clean hands” affidavit, as laid out in the Ohio Department of Development’s FY2026 Brownfield FAQ, Ohio Department of Development.
Where the money came from
This latest round is possible thanks to a $200 million transfer into the Brownfield Remediation Fund that was tucked into the state’s biennial budget under House Bill 96. That move created county-level set-asides so the money would not just pile up in a few metro areas but instead get spread across the state. The budget language and its county carve-outs have been highlighted by state lawmakers and budget summaries, Ohio Senate.
Officials' take
State leaders are pitching the program as a way to remove the kind of contamination that scares off private developers and leaves properties in limbo for years. “These projects are removing long-standing obstacles to growth, and creating opportunities for new housing, new businesses, new jobs, and better lives for our families,” Development Director Lydia Mihalik said in the governor’s release, as quoted by Highland County Press.
Why it matters locally
Local planners and land banks say that without completed environmental assessments and remediation, housing, retail, and riverfront projects stay stuck on the drawing board. The $15.5 million slice announced now follows a $61 million round in May that backed brownfield work in 75 counties, a signal that the state intends to keep a steady stream of cleanup money flowing.
From here, local recipients have to submit required reports, line up contractors, and comply with reimbursement rules before demolition or soil removal actually begins. Timelines will vary from county to county, but the state’s guidance notes that awards must be wrapped up within the performance period spelled out in each contract, according to the Ohio Department of Development.
