U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, outlined legislation to improve programs for homeless veterans and their families in East Cleveland today.

Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11) is pleased to announce the U.S. Department of Energy awarded Case Western Reserve University $1.4 million under the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) OPEN 2015 program.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, outlined legislation to improve programs for homeless veterans and their families in Warren today. According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, about 12 percent of the adult homeless population is comprised of veterans.

On Wednesday, November 18, 2015, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) Board approved more than $23.4 million for affordable housing initiatives across the state of Ohio, including:

Congressman Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green) received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) release of their initial strategic plan to assess risks associated with algal toxins in public drinking water as required under legislation authored by Rep. Latta, H.R. 212, The Drinking Water Protection Act

The markets that were selected for the initiative’s expansion are Metropolitan Statistical Areas in which Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each had at least 100 real estate owned properties valued at less than $75,000. The selected Ohio markets include Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland-Elyria, Columbus, Dayton, and Toledo. Nationwide, the following areas have been designated for the initiative

The Endowment’s grant will offer farmers and private landowners another option in addition to the agricultural conservation practices already in use through the program on farms in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. Forested buffers are an effective way to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus from entering waterways. Forests also offer the promise of increased income from hunting leases, timber products, and carbon sequestration. Increasing forests in this area will also provide important benefits for wildlife.

After a series of short extensions this year, the House of Representatives passed a long term highway bill Thursday for the nation’s roads and transportation systems without any tax increases.

The Transit Tech Ohio project has been awarded a $6.8 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant. The money will be used to help rural transit agencies purchase hardware and software that allows them to schedule and dispatch transit vehicles.

The nation's largest statewide housing conference begins Tuesday, December 1 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, and will be hosted by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) and the Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing (OCCH)

On Wednesday, October 21, the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) Board approved $1.2 million to help COMPASS Family and Community Services develop a new 36-bed emergency shelter for victims of domestic violence. Sojourner House will serve men, women and children from Youngstown and the greater Mahoning area and will house a minimum of 100 individuals per year

The loan will assist in installing new sewers along Ridge Road to serve an unincorporated area of Howland Township, currently relying on home sewage treatment systems, many of which are failing. The area contains small lot sizes and unsuitable soil for leach fields. The high cost to replace failing systems would not be cost-effective compared to a centralized system. The project will bring about significant health benefits by removing untreated sewage, which is a health hazard, from the local environment

The village of Cuyahoga Heights has obtained a covenant not to sue under Ohio EPA’s Voluntary Action Program (VAP) after investigating and remediating the former Sunar-Hauserman property. The property at 6551 Grant Avenue, Cuyahoga Heights, consists of about 21 acres. Originally developed in the 1950s, the property had been used as a manufacturing facility, making movable interior steel partitions and steel office furniture.

Requesting feedback from interested parties, Ohio EPA has opened an initial comment period related to the Agency’s new draft rules for public drinking water systems (and laboratories) as it relates to the reporting and monitoring of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). Confirmed reports of these blue green HABs growing in Ohio’s lakes, reservoirs, and rivers were common this summer

Congressman Bob Latta (R-OH), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and Subcommittee on Energy and Power, issued the following statement regarding the subcommittee’s hearing regarding the “EPA’s CO2 Regulations for New and Existing Plants”.

Ohio EPA is offering a free workshop to promote resources available to help redevelop brownfields, or blighted properties. The workshop will be held Oct. 20, 2015, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., at Fort Piqua Plaza Banquet Center, 308 N Main St, Piqua.

The City of Avon Lake will construct additional storage and interconnection systems to prevent problems in the public drinking water system that can develop when Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are present. The city is receiving a low-interest loan from Ohio EPA.

The Village of Bradner is making major improvements to its drinking water system. The project, funded with an interest-free loan from Ohio EPA, will increase the supply of well water and improve the water treatment process.

North Fairfield will evaluate the village’s raw water supply and current drinking water treatment process to develop recommendations for improvements. The existing water plant has reached the end of its life expectancy. The project is financed with an interest-free loan from Ohio EPA.

The Village of Cleves will replace two water lines to improve service in the Jackson Street/Hooven Road and East State Road areas. The project is being financed with a low-interest loan from Ohio EPA.