Garfield Heights Property Receives Covenant Not to Sue Under Ohio EPA’s Voluntary Action Program
WASHINGTON, D.C. – July 1, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Through the voluntary efforts of a Garfield Heights property owner, a local brownfield has been investigated and remediated under Ohio EPA’s Voluntary Action Program (VAP), and redeveloped into a commercial office complex.
Ohio EPA has issued a covenant not to sue to Blue Sky Campus for its 12-acre property located at 9501 Granger Road.
Following standards developed by Ohio EPA, Blue Sky Campus hired a certified professional to assess the brownfield, identify any areas of environmental concern and remediate contamination to a level that would allow for commercial/industrial reuse. Remediation included the removal of contaminated soils.
Before being vacated in 2009, the property housed a 50-year-old industrial facility where steel wire products and conveyor systems were produced. Now, with remediation complete, the site is the new headquarters for a worldwide distributor of e-books and audiobooks. The redeveloped property includes a 95,000-square-foot commercial facility, outdoor meeting space, pond and walking path.
A covenant not to sue protects the property’s owner or operator and future owners from being legally responsible to the State of Ohio for further investigation and remediation. 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. In the past 40 years, 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. Ohio EPA….40 years and moving forward.
Contact:
PUBLIC INTEREST CENTER: (614) 644-2160
MEDIA CONTACT: Mike Settles
mike.settles (at) epa.ohio (dot) gov
CITIZEN CONTACT: Kristopher Weiss
kristopher.weiss (at) epa.ohio (dot) gov
