Testimony — Mollie Fitzgerald, Athens County Port Authority, on House Bill 96 (March 5, 2025)

Summary

Interested party testimony to the House Development Committee on House Bill 96, dated Wednesday, March 5, 2025, from Mollie Fitzgerald, Director of the Athens County Economic Development Council and Athens County Port Authority. The testimony asks for continued funding for the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program (BRP) in the state's Main Operating Budget. It says the Port Authority has received BRP funds and is using a BRP clean-up grant to revitalize several sites and buildings throughout Athens County. It states that 285 of the projects are underway in counties with a population of fewer than 70,000 people.

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                                  House Development Committee
                      Interested Party Testimony, House Bill 96 (Stewart)
                     Mollie Fitzgerald, Director, Athens County Port Authority
                                    Wednesday, March 5, 2025
Chair Hoops, Vice Chair Lorenz, Ranking Member Abdullahi and members of the House
Development Committee, thank you for the opportunity to present Interested Party Testimony on
House Bill 96, the main operating budget for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.


My name is Mollie Fitzgerald and I am the Director of the Athens County Economic
Development Council and Athens County Port Authority. I am testifying today to respectfully
request the inclusion of continued funding for the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program (BRP)
in House Bill 96, the state’s Main Operating Budget.

The Ohio General Assembly created the BRP in 2021 with an initial appropriation of $350
million. Two years later, lawmakers renewed the program with a second appropriation of $350
million. To date, the program has been responsible for the clean-up or assessment of more than
600 brownfield sites in 86 of Ohio’s 88 counties. Importantly, 285 of these projects are underway
in counties with a population of fewer than 70,000 people, and 355 are in counties with a
population of less than 150,000.

These results not only show that brownfields are indeed a statewide problem but also show that
there are opportunities for new economic development and revitalization in every region of Ohio.

The Port Authority has been a recipient of funds from the BRP. Utilizing a BRP clean-up grant,
we have been and are currently in the process revitalizing several sites and buildings
throughout Athens County, that when finished, will be redeveloped into vibrant community
spaces that create jobs and expand the tax base.

This is just one of many examples of projects that are currently underway across the state of
Ohio.

As impressive as this work has been, the progress made over the past four years has just
barely scratched the surface of what is needed to address brownfield remediation in Ohio. Of
the grants that have been awarded since 2021, 279 have been assessment grants.
Assessments just determine the scope of contamination that may exist on a site. The majority of
these locations will need clean-up funds in order to ensure they are made available for future
redevelopment opportunities.

This is why it is critical to continue funding for the Brownfield Remediation Program for at least
the next two years.

As proud as we are with the work that we have been able to accomplish with the BRP, there
have been issues with the current operation of the program. The first come, first serve nature of
the BRP leaves Ohio’s smaller counties at a disadvantage when seeking funding for remediation
projects in their communities. This is why a majority of the sites that will need clean-up funds in
the future (170) are in counties with a population under 150,000.
State Representatives Thomas Hall and Bride Sweeney have proposed important programmatic
changes to the BRP which will shift the program from a first come, first serve model to a merit-
based system, which scores applications reviewed by a panel of experts working with the Ohio
Department of Development. This model mirrors Ohio’s first brownfield program, the Clean Ohio
Revitalization Fund (CORF). CORF was responsible for producing $1.16 billion in one-time
contributions and contributing $1.4 billion annually to the state’s Gross Domestic Product.

As someone who is directly involved in this work, I strongly believe it is imperative for Ohio to
adopt these changes to help ensure that Ohio can maintain its competitive advantage as a great
place to do business.

Please support a continued appropriation for the brownfield remediation program of at least
$100-$150 million per year, along with the programmatic changes being proposed by
Representatives Hall and Sweeney. This investment will unlock untold potential on the 9,000
plus former commercial and industrial brownfield sites across, while preserving agricultural land
and green space from unnecessary development.

Chair Hoops and members of the House Development Committee, thank you for the opportunity
to provide interested party testimony and for GOPC to share our views on what it will take to
create the tools and policy environment Ohio needs to thrive in the years to come.


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