NEW RICHMOND, Ohio — Cleanup of soil and groundwater contamination at a former school bus garage on New Richmond’s riverfront is set to begin this fall, backed by a $400,000 state grant, Clermont County officials said.
The county received the funding through the Ohio Department of Development’s Brownfield Remediation Program to remediate the site at 229 Front St., which served as a maintenance and fueling center for the New Richmond Exempted Village School District’s bus fleet from 1986 to 2020.
Contamination in the soil and groundwater was discovered after underground diesel tanks were removed from the property, according to the county. Crews will demolish the building, excavate contaminated soil and address groundwater impacts, work expected to take about six months. An environmental consultant, Patriot Engineering, will monitor the site for two years after the cleanup.
“Working with the Village of New Richmond, the consultant, the school district and the land bank, we’re going to eliminate an environmental liability and turn it into a community asset,” Commissioner David Painter said in a statement.
Once remediated, the property will become a public parking lot supporting Liberty Landing, a $13.4 million riverfront development in the village. Construction of Liberty Landing is expected to be complete by Nov. 1.
The project is a joint effort of the Clermont County Land Bank, the village, the school district and the county.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Clermont County Board of Commissioners.