Recently, Ohio EPA released its newsletter directed toward those interested in brownfield redevelopment (SABR News). The July 2010 newsletter included some important recent developments at the federal and state level.
Federal Brownfields Legislation
The Federal Brownfield Re-authorization Bill was introduced in May 2010. If the bill passes it could include some important reforms to
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The administration of the Clean Ohio program is largely governed by the policies developed by the Clean Ohio Council. Separate policies have been generated for the Clean Ohio Assistance Fund (COAF) and the Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund (CORF).
Over the life of the Clean Ohio program, the Clean Ohio Council has routinely updated the program
There has been much discussion regarding the use of Land Banks to assist in addressing the aftermath of the foreclosure crisis. Here is an excerpt from the Cleveland Plain Dealer discussing the County’s recently launched non-profit corporate land bank:
Formally launched by the county in April, the new, nonprofit land bank is the first of
On May 18, 2009 the Clean Ohio Council finalized new policies that will govern future rounds of the Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund (CORF). A major change has been incorporated into the policies that will impact developers, consultants and contractors who work on Clean Ohio projects. For the first time the Council has included conflict of
These are great times to investigating potential brownfield projects in Ohio. The State has two pots of money available under its Clean Ohio brownfield program. 1) the Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund (CORF); and 2) the Clean Ohio Assistance Fund (COAF). CORF is a competitive grant process where applications are pooled into rounds and the top projects in
Hurry up and get your site in line by Monday March 30th with the State of Ohio for possible additional federal brownfield money to support your project. The State is only looking for "shovel ready" sites. This means the types of brownfield sites that may be able to secure the $200,000 federal brownfield stimulus money are limited.
After reauthorization of the Clean Ohio program this November by Ohio Voters, the State has announced their intention to maintain two grant funding rounds per year going forward. Hopefully this will allow the program to operate more consisentely. In the past, project developers were often forced to try and rush projects because future funding rounds were
To quote a consultant I work with…"Times must be tough in Ohio when there is free money left on the table" for redevelopment.
Today, the Clean Ohio Council met to evaluate the project proposals for Round 5 of the Clean Ohio Revitalization Fund. There was $17 million in grant funding available. In the previous 4
With very little fanfare, the Department of Commerce put on their web page two documents that change the policy interpretations of the prevailing wage requirements. The "policy interpretation" is controversial. As reported in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the Republican controlled House and Senate will likely be discussing ways to block the change.
What are Prevailing Wage laws? To offset the low bid public contract requirement, the ""prevailing wage" law requires wages commonly paid to construction workers in a particular region will determine the minimum wage paid to the same type of workers employed on publicly funded construction projects. (For additional background view the extended entry below)
The Strickland Administration is claiming that the release of the Commerce Department’s new guidance document on prevailing wage is a "simple clarification" of existing law. The spokesman for the Governor said the law was simply "misapplied" to two situations, one of which is brownfield redevelopment projects. However, many view it as a broad expansion of the applicability of prevailing wage that could drive up construction costs.
Strickland Administration Frames the Debate: "In recent years there has been no clear approach used by the Department when determining whether publicly-funded construction activity is so intertwined with private construction activity that the activity constitutes a single "project" (triggering prevailing wage) and when they are sufficiently "separate and unrelated" that they constitute separate projects, one publicly supported (which triggers prevailing wage) and one privately financed (which does not trigger prevailing wage).
THE ISSUE: When a Clean Ohio grant pays for remediation work and demolition but the rest of the project development is privately financed, then what portion is covered by prevailing wage?
FROM ADMINISTRATION’S NEW POLICY STATEMENT: Whenever a public entity contributes funding or other direct support (e.g.-public land) to a project, even an otherwise privately-financed project, prevailing wage must be paid to the workers on the project.
RAMIFICATION ON BROWNFIELD REDEVELOPMENT PROJECTS: Under the Administration’s new policy, prevailing wage will apply to all construction work at a site receiving Clean Ohio funds whenever an end-user is identified. Therefore, if the Clean Ohio grant application includes a commitment to use the site by a new tenant or developer, prevailing wage applies to all construction at the site work. If no end-user is identified in the application, prevailing wage only applies to remediation work at the site.
DISCUSSION: It simply is a false distinction to apply prevailing wage on the basis of whether an end user has been identified. Under Clean Ohio guidelines, grant funds can only pay for :
The Clean Ohio guidelines forbid expenditure on building improvements or infrastructure improvements. If it is illegal to use to program funds for this work, how can prevailing wage be deemed to apply?
Developers will have to run the numbers. By choosing the "development ready track" (no end-user), applicants can only seek $2 million in state funds versus $3 million for end-user projects. Developers will be calculating whether overall project costs exceed the extra $1 million available if prevailing wage applies. Some may say that’s acceptable, but if makes less brownfield projects viable that is not a good result for Ohio’s cities.
It seems questionable that the Administration can make such a broad change in application of the prevailing wage through a simple "policy interpretation." Legal challenges or legislative action seems inevitable.Continue Reading How the New Policy on Prevailing Wage Impacts Brownfield Projects