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Auglaize County commissioners will raze run-down structures, remove junk and debris, and remediate contaminated soil at 14505 Townline-Kossuth Road in Noble Township. Commissioners will spend $2.4 million in grants to clean up property.
WAPAKONETA - Auglaize County commissioners have been awarded a $2.1 million state grant to clear away decrepit structures and debris and remediate contaminated soil at a 19-acre former junkyard site northeast of St. Marys.
Once the estimated $2.4 million project is complete, the property at 14505 Townline-Kossuth Road in Noble Township will be ready for future development, according to county administrator Erica Preston.
Just as important, the soil remediation will prevent heavy metal contaminants from impacting nearby waterways and groundwater.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine this week announced $58.2 million in Brownfield Remediation Program grants to clean up and redevelop 61 hazardous brownfield sites in 33 counties, among them the former junkyard on Townline-Kossuth Road.
"We are very pleased that we're going to take advantage of these grant funds for Auglaize County to clean up another property," Preston told the newspaper.
County officials determined the nearly 20-acre farmstead now owned by Reier Irrevocable Heritage Trust had an active junkyard permit at the county auditor's office through at least 2015, Preston noted.
"It looks like the property was developed with a residence and outbuildings associated with the farmstead, at least in the 1940s, from what we could find," she said. "It was utilized as a junkyard from the mid-to-late 1960s through the 1990s. So it does have a residence and some mobile home trailers on it."
The residence has not been occupied since the mid-to-late 1990s, Preston added.
Auglaize County commissioners will raze run-down structures, remove junk and debris, and remediate contaminated soil at 14505 Townline-Kossuth Road in Noble Township. Commissioners will spend $2.4 million in grants to clean up property.
Commissioners earlier this year signed off on a $7,000 agreement with CTL Engineering of Wapakoneta to assess the property to determine if it would qualify for the state program established to clean up industrial, commercial and institutional brownfield sites that are abandoned, idled or underutilized due to hazardous substances or petroleum.
The environmental probe found the soil is contaminated with lead, arsenic and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, thus meeting the grant requirements.
Plans call for the demolition of the dilapidated structures, removal of junk and debris and remediation of contaminated soil. The cleared and remediated land will be available for potential future developments, but nothing is planned at this time.
"The future is wide open with this one," Preston said.
The total project is estimated at $2.4 million. The county will match the brownfield grant with a roughly $360,000 secondary grant to bankroll the work.
Commissioners contracted with CTL Engineering through a request for quote (RFQ) process.
"We have to have an environmental specialist handling the entire project, so CTL Engineering will issue awards to any of their subs that they have and move the project forward," Preston said.
The project will likely take a year to complete. But before work can begin, commissioners must sign a grant agreement with the state.
"There are some things that we can start in advance and still be reimbursed for even without that grant," Preston said.
The Reier Irrevocable Heritage Trust must provide right to access for the project but will ultimately retain the property.
"The trust will still be owner of the property at the end of the day just because that's how the state has these grants structured, which is very unique and unusual," Preston pointed out.
Since the launch of the brownfield program in 2021, the Ohio Department of Development has awarded more than $560 million to support 550 projects in 86 counties, according to a state news release.
Following site remediation, properties can be redeveloped to revitalize neighborhoods and attract new economic development.
The Ohio General Assembly is funding the program through the current operating budget. Ohio's 88 counties were each eligible for at least $1 million in funding, with the remaining funds awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
In 2022, the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program awarded $2.64 million to Auglaize County commissioners and $110,000 to St. Marys.
The bulk of the county's grant dollars went toward the cleanup and remediation of the former Koenig property in Wapakoneta, which had been home to a variety of industrial and manufacturing endeavors since the late 1800s. The property had been vacant since the mid-2000s and largely in a state of disrepair.
The city of St. Marys used its grant to clean up an old car dealership, auto service and gas station located at 1049 East Spring St. The facility served the area from shortly after World War II until the 2010s, according to the release.
The city purchased the property in March 2022 with the intention of remediation. Cleanup included removing 122-244 cubic yards of contaminated soil where the garage once sat, allowing for the redevelopment of the site.
