Cincinnati committee identifies 23 city brownfields as potential sites under Ohio House Bill 15

Chairwoman Mika Owens presided over a Climate and City Services Committee briefing in which the Office of Environment and Sustainability (OES) and outside consultants outlined how Ohio House Bill 15 could be used to convert brownfields and former coal‑mine sites into clean‑energy generation and battery storage projects.

The presentation, led by Nikki Vandevoort, clean energy and climate resilience manager at OES, and consultants Dylan Borchers and Nick Rivera, said the work was funded through an EPA Municipal Investment Fund grant (part of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund) and aimed at building local clean‑energy market capacity rather than underwriting a single project. Vandevoort said Cincinnati was the only Ohio community selected for that competitive grant.

The consultants described a four‑tier scoring approach that filtered sites listed in the U.S. EPA and Ohio EPA brownfields inventories for (1) formal brownfield or former coal‑mine designation, (2) energy infrastructure and acreage suitable for generation or storage, (3) Ohio Power Siting Board/permitting suitability, and (4) alignment with House Bill 15 provisions. "House Bill 15 expands the ability for customers to self‑generate and allows generation to be sited off‑site from the customer," Dylan Borchers said, describing new options for shared behind‑the‑meter arrangements.

Results presented to the committee identified 66 candidate sites in Hamilton County (eight high suitability, 47 moderate, 11 low) and 23 candidate sites inside Cincinnati city limits (one high suitability, 20 moderate, two low). The consultants emphasized that acreage requirements skew the highest scores toward larger sites for utility‑scale solar, while smaller parcels may still be attractive for battery storage and behind‑the‑meter arrangements.

OES Director Ollie Kroner and staff outlined next steps: the office will finalize the written report by the end of the month, review and prioritize the 23 city‑limit sites, coordinate with Hamilton County by sharing data for county sites, and conduct outreach to private property owners for voluntary designations. Vandevoort said designation as a priority investment area requires a municipal ordinance that the administration will bring forward for council consideration.

Committee members pressed presenters on how sites become officially designated brownfields in Ohio. Nick Rivera noted that Ohio’s voluntary remediation program allows property owners to work with certified professionals (CPs) who can issue no‑further‑action letters, and that many potentially eligible sites are not listed in the state or federal inventories because listing is voluntary. Rivera also noted a CP certification maintenance fee referenced in the briefing (about $3,000 per year).

Vice Chair Ryan James and other members asked about competitiveness for state and federal grants and whether the city should consider cross‑jurisdiction arrangements to take advantage of microgrid and shared generation opportunities. The presenters recommended early visioning, clear project uses for sites, and regional coordination to remain competitive for limited funding.

The office did not present site‑level recommendations at this briefing and declined to comment on specific properties when asked about the Crosley Building and a site referenced as "LUNKENHAMER," saying the scan was an initial suitability analysis and that most of the identified city sites are privately owned. Consultants said none of the 23 city candidates in the presentation were city‑ or state‑owned.

The committee will receive the final report, and OES said it will return with a recommended set of municipal PIAs and a draft ordinance to begin designations. Chair Owens closed the presentation portion by thanking staff and the consultants for what she called "fascinating work."