Cincinnati Amends Environmental Covenant For MetroWest Commerce Park Property

Ohio EPA Approves Additional Ground Water Restrictions

WASHINGTON, D.C. – (RealEstateRama) — The city of Cincinnati has received an amended covenant not to sue for the MetroWest Commerce Park property under Ohio EPA’s Voluntary Action Program (VAP) after extending the area around the property where ground water use is restricted.

The property, bordered by Evans, Gest and West Eighth streets, was previously occupied by the former Queen City Barrel and has been used for business and manufacturing since the 1860s. Ohio EPA granted a covenant not to sue in 2014 after the city remediated the site. At that time, the city prohibited use of ground water under the property.

Further discussions between Ohio EPA and Cincinnati led to the city and its consultant extending the area limiting ground water extraction beyond the MetroWest property boundaries. Cincinnati filed the updated paperwork with Ohio EPA in June 2017.

Future use of the MetroWest property is limited to commercial or industrial development.

A covenant not to sue protects the property owner or operator and future owners from being legally responsible to the State of Ohio for further environmental investigation and remediation relating to known releases. The protection applies only when the property is used and maintained according to the terms and conditions of the covenant.

In the 22 years since Ohio EPA issued the first covenant not to sue under the VAP program, more than 12,300 acres of blighted land have been revitalized at more than 570 sites across the state.

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The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1972 to consolidate efforts to protect and improve air quality, water quality and waste management in Ohio. Since then, air pollutants dropped by as much as 90 percent; large rivers meeting standards improved from 21 percent to 89 percent; and hundreds of polluting, open dumps were replaced with engineered landfills and an increased emphasis on waste reduction and recycling.

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