Coit Road Site – Water Tower Park Property Receives Covenant Not to Sue Under Ohio EPA’s Voluntary Action Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 17, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — Forest City Land Development and Collinwood BioEnergy have received a covenant not to sue under Ohio EPA’s Voluntary Action Program (VAP), after investigating the Water Tower Park property, 948 East 140th Street, Cleveland.

The 24.61-acre property previously was used by General Motors Corporation for the Fisher body Plant beginning in 1921. In World War II, the plant produced aircraft gun, fuselage and tank parts for B-29 aircraft. After the war, the plant was used to produce large stamping dies, inside door panels, seats and cloth and vinyl interiors for automobiles with production ending in 1983.

The property is a parcel from the larger Coit Road site that was previously assessed and remediated through Ohio EPA’s enforcement program. The applicants then sought a covenant not to sue to gain certification that the site was cleaned to meet VAP standards. Following standards developed by Ohio EPA, Collinwood BioEnergy and Forest City hired a certified professional to assess the property and address any areas of environmental concern. No additional cleanup was required. The land is suitable for commercial and industrial use with a restriction on ground water extraction for potable purposes.

The Collinwood BioEnergy parcel has been redeveloped with a green energy anaerobic digestion facility, while the Forest City Land Development parcel is vacant and ready for redevelopment.

A covenant not to sue protects the property’s owners or operators and future owners from being legally responsible to the State of Ohio for further environmental investigation and remediation related to known releases. This protection applies only when the property is used and maintained in accordance with the terms and conditions of the covenant.

In the 18 years since Ohio EPA issued the first covenant under VAP, more than 8,000 acres of blighted land have been revitalized at nearly 400 sites across the state.

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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