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 the City of Springfield for an Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training grant. The City of Springfield plans to train 56 students and place at least 35 graduates in environmental jobs. The 5-week training program includes 160 hours in 40-hour HAZWOPER; OSHA 10-hour construction; trenching/excavation; confined space entry; lead renovation, repair, and painting; lead abatement worker; asbestos worker/handler; mold abatement; flagger; bloodborne pathogens; forklift driver; first aid/CPR; and silica safety. Participants who complete the training will earn three state and nine federal certifications. The City of Springfield is targeting 16 neighborhoods in the northwest part of the city, where the poverty rate is more than triple the state and national averages and the unemployment rate is approximately six percent higher than city, state, and national averages. Key partners include Bryan University, Community Partnership of the Ozarks, the Drew Lewis Foundation, Environmental Works Inc., Gerken Environmental, the Springfield Neighborhood Advisory Council, and Sunbelt Environmental Services Inc.