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 Brownfields  2006

  Grant  Fact  Sheet

         Central  Ohio

          Community

        Improvement

         Corporation,

        Gahanna,   OH

EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders 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 Central Ohio Community Improvement Corpora-
tion (COCIC) was selected to receive a brownfields
cleanup grant. COCIC is partnering with the City of
Gahanna (population 34,469) in an effort to clean up
the former Bedford I Landfill. Gahanna, once a rapidly
growing, first ring suburb of Columbus, Ohio, is
 Cleanup Grant
 $200,000 for hazardous substances
 EPA has selected the Central Ohio Community
 Improvement Corporation for a brownfields
 cleanup grant. Grant funds will be used to clean
 up soil and groundwater contamination at the
 Bedford I Landfill Section A, on Claycraft Road
 in the heart of the City of Gahanna's industrial
 district. Funds will be directed for surface water
 management and sedimentation ponds, and for
 cap replacement and repair. Approximately 10
 million cubic yards of municipal, industrial, and
 special waste and construction debris were
 accepted at the landfill from 1970 to 1995.
 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/R5 Brownfields/
 Grant Recipient: Central Ohio Community Im-
 provement Corporation, OH
 614-462-3430
 The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
 yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
 in this fact sheet are subject to change.
approaching built-out status. Any growth in the city
must involve in-fill development. 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 surround-
ing counties. However, the uncertainties linked to the
city's approximately 110 brownfields sites, especially
in the targeted industrial district, discourage economic
development and investment. The nearly 90-acre
                                              Solid Waste and
                                              Emergency Response
                                              (5105T)
                       EPA560-F-06-127
                       May 2006
                       www.epa.gov/brownfields

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Bedford I site is the largest brownfield in the commu-
nity. Cleanup of the landfill will help mitigate and
prevent environmental problems, including runoff to
Big Walnut Creek, landfill gas emissions, and poor air
quality. The anticipated redevelopment plans for
Bedford I include a golf facility and 300,000 square
feet of new high-technology industrial and office space.
This represents a significant capital investment and is
expected to generate an estimated 4,000 new jobs and
the accompanying tax revenues.

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