Ohio
Cessation of Regulated Operations (CRO)
Ohio Cessation of Regulated Operations (CRO)
Ohio's Cessation of Regulated Operations (CRO) program requires the owner or operator of a facility that stops its regulated operations to remove the regulated substances from it. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) says the goal is to prevent the threats created when businesses where chemicals were produced, used, stored or handled are abandoned. The law is Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3752, in effect since July 1, 1996, and the rules are in Ohio Administrative Code Chapter 3745-352.
In a Phase I ESA
ASTM E1527-21 does not name this program among its standard record sources. It bears on any closed or idle facility that once reported chemicals, and five details shape how to read it.
- It follows chemical inventory reporting. The law applies to owners or operators of facilities required to file a chemical inventory report under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. A facility is covered if it had to file one at any time on or after July 1, 1996 and at any time during the three consecutive years before it ceased regulated operations. Underground storage tanks regulated by the State Fire Marshal's Bureau of Underground Storage Tank Regulations (BUSTR), oil and gas production operations and public utilities are exempt.
- It leaves forms. Ohio EPA's forms are a notice of permanent or temporary cessation (the 30/45 Day Form), a Regulated Substance and Equipment Removal Form (the 90 Day Final Form), and a form for the holder of the first mortgage, a fiduciary, an indentured trustee or a receiver (the 15/60 Day Form). Warning signs must stay posted until Ohio EPA has verified that the requirements are complete. Ask for the 90 day form and for Ohio EPA's verification.
- It is not a cleanup. Ohio EPA says soil contamination is not covered: the law is intended to prevent contamination of soil or water, and other environmental laws address contamination that is already there. Asbestos-containing material applied to or built into a structure is also outside it. A completed CRO says the chemicals were removed. It does not say the ground was tested.
- A change of use can trigger it. Ohio EPA says a reporting facility that keeps operating but changes from manufacturing to an office business has ceased its regulated operations. A change of ownership does not trigger the program if regulated operations continue without interruption, but a stop of more than 30 days does.
- Lenders can be responsible. If the operator fails to comply, Ohio EPA says the owner, the holder of the first mortgage, a fiduciary or an indentured trustee will be responsible for compliance, depending on the circumstances.
A temporary stop has lighter rules. Within 45 days the owner or operator certifies that operations will resume within a year, and asks for a waiver if it will take longer. A new owner or operator of a facility that has temporarily stopped must notify Ohio EPA within 15 days.
Where to look a site up
- Ohio EPA's CRO page links a Current/Historical List of CRO Facilities.
- The program's listed phone number is 614-644-2924.
Getting the file
Ohio EPA has no central repository: each division and district office stores its own files. Many records are in the agency's eDocument search. For others, use the online file review request form. Ohio EPA says the best first contact is the district office where the facility is located.
Sources
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency pages, read October 7, 2026, no modified date shown: