EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act of 2002, as amended by the Brownfields Utilization, Investment and Local Development Act of 2018, was passed to help states and communities around the country clean up and revitalize brownfield sites. Under this law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through five competitive grant programs: Multipurpose Grants, Assessment Grants, Revolving Loan Fund Grants, Cleanup Grants, and Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grants. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.
Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grant funds are provided to nonprofit organizations and other eligible entities to recruit and train unemployed and underemployed residents from solid and hazardous waste-impacted communities and place them in environmental jobs. To date, EPA has funded 305 job training grants totaling over $63 million through the Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training program. As of October 2019, more than 18,300 individuals have completed training, and of those, almost 13,700 have obtained employment in the environmental field, an average starting wage of over $14 an hour. This equates to a cumulative placement rate of approximately 75% since the program was created in 1998.
$200,000.00
EPA has selected Hunters Point Family for an Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training grant. Hunters Point Family plans to train 60 students and place at least 43 graduates in environmental jobs. The core training program includes over 200 hours of instruction in 40-hour HAZWOPER, OSHA 10-hour construction health and safety, OSHA asbestos worker, lead worker, confined space, and mold awareness. First aid/CPR and job readiness training also are included as part of the training program. Participants who complete the training will earn one state and four federal certifications. Hunters Point Family is targeting low-income, unemployed, and underemployed residents of the Bayview Hunters Point, Potrero Hill, and Visitacion Valley neighborhoods in San Francisco. Key partners include Young Community Developers, GRID Alternatives, Smith Enterprise and Maintenance, Ecobay Services, Local 67, Local 261, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the Hunters Point Shipyard Community Advisory Committee, and CityBuild Academy.