EAST PALESTINE — East Palestine is set to benefit from the latest round of brownfield funding through the state of Ohio. The Columbiana County Land Reutilization Corporation will receive $780,000 of $86.1 million in state support set aside to help clean up and redevelop 81 hazardous sites in 46 counties, Gov. Mike DeWine’s office announced.

The funds will be used to clean-up and remediate the site of a former gas station at 448 E. Taggart St. and repurpose the property for future commercial use. The remediation is unrelated to last year’s Norfolk Southern train derailment, but rather part of an initiative to “make a brownfield site operational for economic development activity.”

According to the Ohio Department of Development, a brownfield property is defined as “an abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial, commercial, or institutional property where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by known or potential releases of hazardous substances or petroleum.”

Clean-up activities at the East Palestine property include demolition, soil remediation, and the removal of aging aboveground storage tanks.

“The project will create a development-ready commercial/industrial property, enhancing local economic opportunities,” DeWine’s office said via a press release.

The former Sohio station was built in 1940. The property has not been used as a gas station in years. It later housed an auto service shop and was last utilized as a used car lot. According to the county auditor’s website, it was last sold in 2001 for $74,000 and the Columbiana County Land Reutilization Corporation acquired the property at this February for a $0 sale price.

Nearly $350 million in brownfield funds are available and provided to the Ohio Department of Development through the 2023 state biennium budget bill, House Bill 33. Approximately $175 million was made available in Fiscal Year 2024 with $1 million reserved for each of Ohio’s 88 counties. The remaining $86.1 million was awarded on a first-come, first-served basis for statewide eligible projects.

The Taggart Street remediation was the only project granted additional brownstone funding in Columbiana County.

Neighboring counties receiving more funds were Jefferson, Stark and Carroll. Stark received nearly $350 million in funds, are available and were provided to the Ohio Department of Development (Development) through the 2023 state biennium budget bill, House Bill 33. Approximately $175 million will be available in Fiscal Year 2024 with $1 million reserved for each county in Ohio. The Jefferson County Port Authority will receive $422,500 for the removal of asbestos-containing materials from the coal conveyor system and associated structures at the former W.H. Sammis Power Plant site and $277,500 for asbestos abatement and the demolition of three dilapidated structures at the former Weirton Steel site. Stark County Land Reutilization Corporation was awarded $2,337,493 to address the former Molly Stark Hospital. This project involves asbestos abatement, demolition of three structures, and site remediation at the historic Molly Stark Sanatorium. Built in 1929, the facility has been abandoned since 1995 and poses significant environmental and safety risks. Following demolition, the site will be transformed into green space for community recreation, including walking trails and gardens. Carroll County was granted $256,000 to conduct phase I and II environmental assessments at a former industrial property, now owned by the Great Trail Fire District.