Testimony — Tom Bullock, CUB Ohio Advocacy Group, 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 Tom Bullock, Executive Director of the CUB Ohio Advocacy Group, a project of the Citizens Utility Board of Ohio. The testimony requests continued funding for the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program (BRP) in the state's Main Operating Budget. It states that the organization is not a recipient of funds from the BRP, and that BRP clean-up funds can in some cases be leveraged with additional private investment for energy development under virtual net metering policies such as those proposed in last year's SB 275.

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                       CITIZENS UTILITY BOARD OF OHIO

                         House Development Committee
              Interested Party Testimony, House Bill 96 (Stewart)
           Tom Bullock, Executive Director, CUB Ohio Advocacy Group
                           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 Tom Bullock, and I am the Executive Director for the CUB Ohio Advocacy Group]. 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.

CUB Ohio Advocacy Group is a project of the Citizens Utility Board of Ohio. We represent
customers in Ohio, both residential and small business. We advocate for state and local policies
that deliver the benefits of new energy technologies to consumers in the form of less expensive,
more sustainable and resilient energy with smart capabilities that give us more control over our
monthly bills. We take an all-of-the-above approach to these issues, and our Board of Directors is
bipartisan.

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.

My organization is not a recipient of funds from the BRP. However, we think BRP clean-up funds
can be leveraged with additional private investment in some cases for energy development under
virtual net metering energy policies, such as those proposed in last year’s SB 275 by Sen. Dolan.

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


      1145 Chesapeake Ave, Suite I  Columbus, OH 43212                    www.cuboh.org
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 poised to be 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.UB


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