Officials apply for $500K EPA grant

Brownfield cleanup money would help decontaminate land

Lorain County will apply for a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Brownfield Cleanup Grant would aim to decontaminate about 2,100 cubic yards of land on the former location of E&L Transportation Co., 7450 Terminal Drive in Lorain.

The property was owned by the company between 1958 and 2005.

It was used for truck repairs, refueling and storage.

The land was acquired by the Lorain County Land Reutilization Corp. in 2016.

If approved for the grant, the three-year project would require a 20 percent local match of $100,000.

“This is a great example of a project that can grow the economy, return a property to being useful in this industrial section of the city and the county to the tax base,” said Pat Metzger, director of the Lorain County Land Bank.

“This is a great example of a project that can grow the economy, return a property to being useful in this industrial section of the city and the county to the tax base.” — Pat Metzger, director of the Lorain County Land Bank.

Cordes estimates the county has spent between $300,000 and $400,000 already ... on the property.

“And we really want to promote companies who can bring jobs in and really have a practical longterm use that has some legs,” Metzger said.

The grant would fund remediation activities to prepare the site for redevelopment, including performance reporting, cleanup oversight and environmental monitoring of cleanup work.

Previous work on the site included the removal of eight underground storage tanks, said Jenny Carter- Cornell, a consultant of Hall & Associates.

Carter-Cornell said the budget for the project has yet to be finalized. The firm is analyzing potential uses for the site, including manufacturing, freight/ logistics, distribution and energy production.

“So, a big part of the grant is to talk about not only what needs to be done to make it safe for the environment and human health, but also how we can bring this back into productive property that can show new investment in new jobs to help improve the community,” she said. “And we feel strongly that because of the location of this property, that once the environmental barriers are removed, that it will be very marketable.”

County Administrator Jim Cordes said many contaminated properties simply lay abandoned with governments left to try to bring them back to productive use for the community.

Cordes estimates the county has spent between $300,000 and $400,000 already between local and external funding sources on the property.

He said not only could it be redeveloped, but rehabbing it is about safeguarding the community.

Lorain County Community Development will seek formal public comments through Oct. 21.

County officials expect to learn if they are awarded the grant in April or May, and the U.S. EPA is expected to award 26 cleanup grants.