Ohio
TOWNGAS coal gas sites
TOWNGAS: Ohio's archived list of coal gas sites
TOWNGAS is an archived database of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) that lists 82 sites of coal gas generators in Ohio. Ohio EPA says these plants produced gas for the street lights of the communities they stood in. Its Division of Environmental Response and Revitalization (DERR) posts the list as a spreadsheet and no longer maintains it.
In a Phase I ESA
ASTM E1527-21 does not name a list of former gas plants among its standard record sources. The list matters because of what the plants produced.
- The concern is coal tar. Ohio EPA says producing one million cubic feet of gas also produced about 800 gallons of liquid coal tar, which it describes as a carcinogen.
- The list was assembled from secondary sources. Ohio EPA says TOWNGAS was developed from a private company's database, with information from a historical society and various public libraries. The page read does not say that the list is complete, so the absence of a town from it does not show that the town had no gas plant.
- Ohio EPA does not stand behind the entries. It says the archived databases are no longer maintained and may contain inaccurate or outdated information, and it disclaims any responsibility for wrong or misleading entries. Treat an entry as a lead to confirm against historical maps and other sources.
What the record shows
The page read gives the size and origin of the list. It does not describe the fields in the spreadsheet.
Where to look a site up
- The TOWNGAS spreadsheet is linked under Archived Databases on Ohio EPA's Database Request page, beside OLDSWLF and SIABASE.
- DERR is at 614-644-2924.
Getting the file
Ohio EPA describes the archived databases as available from DERR upon request. The page read does not say whether a file exists behind an entry. To ask, use Ohio EPA's online file review request form; Ohio EPA 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: