Ohio
Ohio Brownfield Inventory
Ohio Brownfield Inventory
The Ohio Brownfield Inventory is a voluntary, statewide database of brownfield properties that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) maintains and makes available to the public. It is kept by Ohio Brownfields, a program of Ohio EPA's Division of Environmental Response and Revitalization (DERR).
In a Phase I ESA
The Inventory is the Ohio form of the state brownfields records that ASTM E1527-21 lists as a standard source. The general reading of a brownfields listing is on the Brownfields page. Three Ohio details shape how to read one.
- Listing is by choice. Properties are submitted by local governments, land banks and private owners. Listing is free, and Ohio EPA says an owner can remove a property from the Inventory at any time. Ohio EPA also says the Inventory is not a comprehensive list of all brownfields in the state: there is no requirement to notify Ohio EPA of owning a brownfield, so no complete list exists. A property's absence says nothing about its condition.
- A listing can carry documents. Ohio EPA says a listing may include location and parcel details, historical land use, environmental assessment history, photos and supporting documents, and that many listings include uploaded environmental reports and site maps. Look for them before ordering new work.
- It is not the DERR database. Ohio EPA says its DERR database is not a list of brownfield sites.
Ohio EPA describes brownfields as properties that may be underutilized because of known or suspected contamination from past commercial, industrial or multi-unit residential use. It says many listed properties have received funding through U.S. EPA Brownfield Grants or Ohio's Brownfield Remediation Program. Ohio Brownfields also calls itself the first point of contact for brownfields or contaminated sites not yet enrolled in a cleanup program, and runs the Targeted Brownfield Assessment Program.
Where to look a site up
- Ohio EPA's Ohio Brownfields page links the Ohio Brownfield Inventory Database. Ohio EPA says the data can be sorted and filtered by location, property status, funding history and environmental assessments, viewed on a map, and exported.
- Ohio Brownfields' staff are listed on DERR's Contacts page. DERR is at 614-644-2924.
Getting the file
Ohio Brownfields says it responds to data and records requests through DERR. Ohio EPA has no central repository: each division and district office stores its own files. Its public records page recommends the online file review request form and says the best first contact is the district office where the site is located.
Sources
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency pages, read October 7, 2026, no modified date shown: