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Brownfields 2005
Grant Fact Sheet
Gahanna, OH
EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders in economic development
to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up,
and sustainably reuse brownfields. Abrownfield site is
real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse
of which may be complicated by the presence or
potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant,
or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, President George
W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability
Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the
Brownfields Law, EPA provides financial assistance to
eligible applicants through four competitive grant
programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund
grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. Addi-
tionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal
response programs through a separate mechanism.
Community Description
The City of Gahanna was selected to receive a
brownfields assessment grant and two cleanup grants.
Once a rapidly growing, first ring suburb of Columbus,
Gahanna (population 33,588) is approaching built-out
status. Any growth in the city must involve in-fill and
redevelopment. The industrial district provides much of
Gahanna's income tax revenue base and serves as an
important regional employment center for the lower
income areas of Columbus and surrounding counties.
However, the uncertainties linked to the city's potential
brownfields, especially in the targeted industrial district,
discourage economic development and investment. In
addition to the abandoned landfill, the area includes a
former steel-drum manufacturing site, brick glazing
Assessment Grant
$200,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Gahanna for a
brownfields assessment grant. Grant funds will be
used to conduct Phase I and Phase II environ-
mental site assessments and to implement com-
munity outreach activities. Assessments will focus
on the Gahanna Industrial District, location of
most of the city's brownfields sites.
Cleanup Grants
T
$400,000 for hazardous substances
EPA has selected the City of Gahanna for two
brownfields cleanup grants. Grant funds will be
used to clean up soil and groundwater contamina-
tion at the Bedford I Landfill, Sections A and B, in
the heart of the city's industrial district. Funds will
be directed for surface water management and
sedimentation ponds, and for cap replacement and
repair. At Section A, funds also will be used for
leachate interceptor and sump. Approximately 10
million cubic yards of waste were accepted at the
landfill which operated from 1970 to 1995. This
action is part of a larger cleanup and closure
effort at the 90-acre landfill site that is expected
to cost approximately $3 million.
Contacts
For further information, including specific grant
contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
news and events, and publications and links, visit
the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/
brownfields.
EPA Region 5 Brownfields Team
312-886-7576
http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/
Grant Recipient: City of Gahanna, OH
614-342-4015
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA560-F-05-195
May 2005
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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plant, and other commercial and industrial parcels.
Assessment and eventual cleanup and redevelopment
of the industrial district is expected to contribute to the
slowing of urban sprawl, promote employment opportu-
nities, and increase tax revenues to support local
government services. Cleanup of the landfill will help
mitigate and prevent environmental problems, including
runoff to Big Walnut Creek, landfill gas emissions, and
local air quality. The city expects to redevelop the
Bedford I Landfill site into a high-tech industrial and
office development that will generate 100 new jobs and
promote redevelopment in the surrounding areas.
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