Section 3734.26. Grants to and contracts with owner of facility

(A) The director of environmental protection may make grants of moneys from the hazardous waste facility management fund created in section 3734.18 of the Revised Code or the hazardous waste clean-up fund created in section 3734.28 of the Revised Code to the owner, other than a political subdivision, of a solid waste facility in which significant quantities of hazardous waste were disposed of or a hazardous waste facility for up to fifty per cent of the cost of the reasonable and necessary expenses incurred for the proper closure of or abatement or prevention of air or water pollution or soil contamination from the facility and for developing the land on which it was located for use in industry, commerce, distribution, or research.

The director shall not make grants to the owner of any land on which such facilities are located if the owner at any time owned or operated the facility located thereon for profit or in conjunction with any profit-making enterprise located in this state or to any person who at any time owned or operated a facility concerning which the director has taken action under section 3734.20, 3734.22, or 3734.23 of the Revised Code. However, the director may make grants under this section to any subsequent owner of the land, provided that the person has no affiliation with any person who owned or operated the facility located on the land for profit or in conjunction with any profit-making enterprise located in this state or who owned or operated a facility concerning which the director has taken action under section 3734.20, 3734.22, or 3734.23 of the Revised Code.

(B) The owner shall submit an application for a grant on forms furnished by the director, together with detail plans and specifications for the measures to be performed to close the facility properly or to abate or prevent air or water pollution or soil contamination from the facility, an itemized estimate of the project's cost, a description of the project's estimated benefits, and such other information as the director prescribes. The plan may be prepared in consultation with the director or with the board of health of the city or general health district in which the facility is located. The director may award the applicant a grant only after finding that the proposed measures will provide for the proper closure of the facility or will abate or prevent air or water pollution or soil contamination from the facility, including, but not limited to, those measures necessary or desirable to:

(1) In the case of a facility for the land burial of hazardous waste, establish and maintain a suitable cover of soil and vegetation over the cells in which waste is buried in order to minimize erosion, the infiltration of surface water into the cells, the production of leachate, and the accumulation or runoff of contaminated surface water and to prevent air emissions of hazardous waste from the facility;

(2) Collect and treat contaminated surface water runoff from the facility;

(3) Collect and treat leachate produced at the facility;

(4) Install test wells and other equipment or facilities to monitor the quality of surface waters receiving runoff from the facility or to monitor air emissions of hazardous waste from the facility;

(5) Regularly monitor and analyze surface water runoff from the facility, the quality of waters receiving the runoff, and ground water quality in the vicinity of the facility, and regularly monitor leachate collection and treatment systems installed under the grant and analyze samples from them;

(6) Remove and dispose of hazardous waste from the facility at a suitable hazardous waste disposal facility where necessary to protect public health or safety or to abate or prevent air or water pollution or soil contamination.

(C) The director shall determine the amount of the grant based upon the director's determination of what constitutes reasonable and necessary expenses for the proper closure of the facility or for the abatement or prevention of air or water pollution or soil contamination from the facility. The amount of the grant shall not exceed one-half of the total, as determined by the director, of what constitutes reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred for the proper closure of or abatement or prevention of air or water pollution or soil contamination from the facility.

In making a grant, the director shall enter into a contract for funding with each applicant awarded a grant to ensure that the moneys granted are used for the purpose of this section and that the measures performed are properly performed. The final payment under a grant may not be made until the director inspects and approves the completed cleanup and the plans for developing the land for use in industry, commerce, distribution, or research.

Each contract for funding shall contain provisions for the reimbursement of the state of a portion of the costs of the cleanup that is commensurate with the increase in the market value of the property attributable to the cleanup thereon, as determined by appraisals made before and after cleanup in the manner stated in the contract. For reimbursement of that portion, the contract may include provisions for:

(1) Payment to the state of the share of the income derived from the productive use of the land;

(2) Imposition of a lien in the amount of the increase in fair market value payable upon the transfer or conveyance to a new owner;

(3) Waiver of all reimbursement if the determination discloses an increase in value that is insubstantial in comparison to the benefits to the public from the abatement of threats to public health or safety or from the abatement or prevention of pollution or contamination, considering the applicant's share of the cleanup cost.

All reimbursements and payments shall be credited to the hazardous waste facility management fund or the hazardous waste clean-up fund , as applicable.

(D) The contract shall require the owner to execute an easement whereby the director, an authorized employee of the agency, or a contractor employed by the agency may enter upon the facility to sample, repair, or reconstruct air and water quality monitoring equipment constructed under the contract. Such easements shall be for a specified period of years and may be extinguished by agreement between the owner and the director. When necessary to protect the public health or safety, the contract may require the owner to enter into an environmental covenant with the director in accordance with sections 5301.80 to 5301.92 of the Revised Code.

(E) As used in this section, "commerce" includes, but is not limited to, agriculture, forestry, and housing.

Amended by 129th General AssemblyFile No.28, HB 153, §101.01, eff. 9/29/2011.

Effective Date: 07-01-1985; 12-30-2004