News
Jackson Iron And Steel Co. Property Cleared For Redevelopment
By: WOUB Staff Writer
Posted on:
A former Jackson County plant site is now ready for redevelopment, after undergoing an investigation by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's Voluntary Action Program.
Ohio EPA has issued a covenant not to sue for the 57-acre former Jackson Iron and Steel Company property, located on State Route 776 in Jackson.
A covenant not to sue protects the property's owners or operators and future owners from being legally responsible to the state for further environmental investigation and remediation.
Jackson Iron and Steel Company operated a steel mill on the site from 1900 to 1969. Most structures were demolished in the 1980s, and the property has been largely unused since the steel mill closed.
"What we're interested in doing here at Ohio EPA is cleaning up polluted properties and of course working with communities like Jackson county, other companies, developers and turning these unwanted, abandoned or blighted properties, what we call brownfields, into useful places," said Erin Strouse, a spokeswoman for Ohio EPA.
Jackson County now owns the property, and the commissioners have taken responsibility for redeveloping the land.
The county has received more than $2 million in Clean Ohio grant money for assessment and redevelopment work at the site. The commissioners say they believe that the property's industrial redevelopment potential is high due to an active rail line running through the site.