Northeast Ohio Initiatives

Northeast Ohio is 1 of 10 critical places selected by USEPA Region 5 to lead the Region's transition to a community-based approach to environmental protection. Over 4 million people live in the 15 county Northeast Ohio area. Historical practices and changing land use patterns have introduced unprecedented stresses on the environment and public health. The agency recognized that traditional compartmentalized approaches while successful need to be replaced with community-based regional approaches to address the challenges of the next decade.

The Regional Environmental Priorities Project (REPP), partially funded by a USEPA grant to the Center for the Environment at Case Western Reserve University, is nearing completion of a three-year science and community-based program to assess and identify the top environmental concerns in 7 of the 15 county Northeast Ohio initiative area. The project depended on balanced technical information and on the involvement of a broad array of constituencies. The REPP surfaced the top five environmental concerns of the community as: out migration from the urban core, quality of the urban environment, quality of outdoor air, quality of surface water, and use of resources/ energy.

Beginning in FY'96, the initiative focused on meeting and developing relationships in the community jointly/coordinated with the Ohio EPA to get acquainted in the community and to receive input concerning initiative design and Federal role. Additionally, the initiative focused on building credibility by supporting existing community-based partnerships to help assure the success of the action organization. Stakeholder involvement will be an on-going activity to reach both a broader audience including neighborhood groups and audiences focused on similar goals.

The goals of the NEOI in FY'97 are:

1. To support state and local partners to achieve their goals to:
   1. Achieve sustainable development.
   2. Restore the quality of the urban environment.
   3. Virtually eliminate toxics, especially PCBs.
   4. Attain and maintain national ambient air quality standards.
   5. Virtually eliminate impaired water quality uses.

2. To lead achieving the six Region 5 environmental goals.

3. To connect the agency with the Northeast Ohio community.

4. To protect public health and the environment.

Last Update: July 18, 2001

EPA Home | Privacy and Security Notice | Contact Us