Warren's Mahoningside Site Gets EPA Covenant
WARREN, Ohio – The city has received a covenant not to sue from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency for the former Mahoningside Power Plant property located at 650 Summit St. N.W.
The city remediated the brownfield under Ohio EPA’s Voluntary Action Program and plans to market the site for commercial or industrial redevelopment.
The 5.4-acre property housed a hydropower plant from the early 1900s to the late 1970s and then was briefly used for demolition and salvage activities. When the city took ownership in 1999 and began demolishing buildings, it found soils contaminated with asbestos and PCBs. In 2000 and 2005, U.S. EPA and Ohio EPA oversaw removal of contaminated soils from the property and the adjacent Mahoning River.
Following standards developed by Ohio EPA, the city hired a certified environmental professional to further assess the site and remove any remaining contaminated soils to a level that would allow for commercial or industrial development.
A covenant not to sue protects the property’s owner or operator and future owners from being legally responsible to the state 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 17 years since Ohio EPA issued the first covenant, nearly 7,000 acres of blighted land have been revitalized at more than 350 sites across the state, officials say.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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