Efforts to clean up a long-unused garbage incinerator along the Mill Creek in Cincinnati are getting a big boost.
The state of Ohio Wednesday awarded a $5 million Brownfield Remediation Program grant to the Hamilton County Land Reutilization Corporation for demolition of the site. The Reutilization Corporation is a subsidiary of The Port.
The 70-year-old West Fork incinerator in South Cumminsville hasn't been used to burn garbage since the 1970s. The site needs significant remediation work to clean up asbestos, lead, and other hazardous materials. The Port will handle those tasks as it takes ownership of the property from the city.
A news release from the state says the property will eventually become part of the Mill Creek Greenway, a multi-use path that will one day tie in with other trails around the city.
South Cumminsville Community Council President Derrick Feagin says he's optimistic about that.
"They'd like to have a place over there where we can set up boats and maybe a concession stand. People can ride bicycles through our community and just have a good time," he says. "Hopefully we'll be able to put this land to good use once it's cleaned up."
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Feagin says the grant is just the latest in a series of moves to remediate properties along Beekman Street, including the demolition of the abandoned Early & Daniel Grain Silos last year and the ongoing work to clean up the former Lunkenheimer Valve building in nearby South Fairmount.
"Now we're having the incinerator taken down. All of these affect the quality of life in the neighborhood," he said.
The Land Use Reutilization Corporation received four other grants from the state for Hamilton County sites. Those include:
- About $2.7 million for cleanup of the former American Laundry Machine Company site in Norwood
- A $1.8 million grant for removal of hazardous waste and underground storage tanks at the former U.S. Printing building in Norwood, a part of the Factory 52 project
- $1.8 million for soil and groundwater cleanup of two blocks of Burnet Avenue in Avondale for future development
- About $581,000 for soil contamination cleanup, asbestos abatement and demolition of two vacant buildings at the site of a former dry cleaner on Auburn Avenue in Mount Auburn.