DAYTON, Ohio — Abandoned nearly 20 years ago, the GHR foundry sits next to homes just north of downtown. The site contains PCBs, loose asbestos, volatile organic compounds and other environmental hazards.

        Its future is in the hands of 14 people who must decide how to spend a limited pot of money to clean up polluted industrial sites around the state.

        The Clean Ohio Council was created last year when Gov. Bob Taft signed into law a bill that provides $200 million for cleaning up brownfields over the next four years. In July, the panel will distribute the first round of funds — $40 million.

        However, it expects requests for $64 million for sites that include property in Dayton, Cleveland, Toledo, Akron and Columbus.

        “Every one of these projects needs to be done,” said member Bruce Cornett, an environmental activist from Yellow Springs. “And it's going to be very hard to say no to some of them.”

        The council also includes government officials and businessmen. The panel plans to take into account the potential for developing a site, as well as environmental issues.

        Richard Regula, of Navarre, grew up on a farm. As a trustee in Bethlehem Township near Canton, he brings the rural perspective.

        “Environmentalists and the EPA people kind of get tunnel vision, and we like to see the big picture,” Mr. Regula said.

        “My No. 1 priority are sites that can be put into active progressive use that can benefit townships and cities,” he said.

        Thomas Kovacik, a Toledo consultant and executive director of the Transportation Advocacy Group of Northwest Ohio, agrees.

        Mr. Kovacik said the brownfields must be put into productive use so jobs are created and the tax base increased.

        “I'm going to concentrate on a combination of not only how it improves the local environment, but how it improves the local community,” Mr. Kovacik said.

        Mr. Cornett said he brings the perspective of the average citizen. He will consider the extent of the contamination, how close the site is to people and schools, and whether the site will be thoroughly cleaned up.

        “More than anything we're looking out for the little guys, making sure everyone has a voice,” Mr. Cornett said.

        Alan Front, senior vice president for Trust for a Public Land, a San Francisco-based group that works with communities to protect open spaces, applauded the idea of a diverse council.

        “It's not only a good model, it's an optimal model and it may actually be the only model,” Mr. Front said. “This is not only about environmental health, it's about economic health, it's about community health. It's too democratic of a process to be left to one set of stakeholders.”

        Maggie Keenan, of the Second Growth Institute, a nonprofit group devoted to the reclamation of polluted sites, has asked the panel for $1.8 million to restore a 25-acre site in Cleveland.

        Ms. Keenan said she is glad the council is not restricted to environmental experts because sites are also scored on such things as the area's unemployment rate, whether the cleaned-up site will attract jobs, and its proximity to populated areas.

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