MANSFIELD ─ The Richland County Land Bank will apply for a state grant on behalf of Madison Township to assess the cleanup needed for a contaminated site.
About 28.4 ppm polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) concentration was recently found at a demolition site next to the township’s fire station on Expressview Drive, according to Certified Environmental, Inc. (CEI). The amount of PCB was higher than the standard. The township owns the property and hired CEI to sample the soil and assess it.
Last month, the township trustees voted to apply for a state or federal grant for the cleanup.
Amy Hamrick, manager of the Land Bank, said phase one of the cleanup process is researching the property’s history, including its uses. Phase two involves taking soil samples on the site. The actual cleanup will begin after the contamination analysis is done.
On Wednesday, the Land Bank’s board of directors unanimously voted to authorize the Land Bank to apply for Ohio’s Targeted Brownfield Assessment (TBA) program on behalf of Madison Township.
Hamrick said the TBA grant will cover the township’s expenses for the first two phases. Madison Township cannot apply for the grant itself because it is the property’s owner.
“Once we have a definite plan in mind, which we don’t get until we get to phase one and two, then we’ll cross the next bridge,” Hamrick said of the process.
Bart Hamilton, Land Bank’s board chair, said Madison Township is planning on building a new fire station on the land.
Hamrick updated the board on the cleanup at the former Swan Cleaners’ location on Wednesday. The building was abandoned in 2014 when the business was closed. The Land Bank acquired the property in early 2019 and received a federal cleanup grant from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Hamrick said the contractor has updated the electrics in the building. The foundation repairs have been scheduled for spring. Some additional projects are needed, including fixing the roof leaks and making the windows watertight.
Mannik Smith Group, the company planning the cleanup process for the Land Bank, is preparing the Remedial Action Plan (RAP) for Ohio EPA. Hamrick said she hopes the agency will approve the plan within a month so the Land Bank can bid out the cleanup project.
Jeff Parton, vice chair of the board, said Swan Cleaners is a about a $500,000 project. The Land Bank paid around 20 percent of the expense and the rest came from the U.S. EPA. The project was part of the package that the Land Bank put together on behalf of the Imagination District.
“It’s going to be a good community project when it’s all wrapped up, and then there should be an end-user across the street,” he said.
