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 Alaska Forum Inc. for an Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training grant. Alaska Forum Inc. plans to train 60 students and place at least 39 graduates in environmental jobs. The training program includes up to 422 hours of instruction. All trainings include 40-hour HAZWOPER and 8-hour HAZWOPER refresher. Other courses that may be offered based on labor market needs include, but are not limited to, OSHA 10-hour construction, confined space/entry, first aid/CPR/survival, North Slope training cooperative unescorted, Alaska qualified sampler training, driving safety, GPS/GIS in environmental field work, lead awareness, asbestos awareness, energy isolation/fall protection, forklift operation, and hazardous materials awareness. The training program will be offered in 12-day blocks of 88 to 90 hours of instruction or six-day blocks of 48 hours of instruction, and will be offered in at least one regional hub location per year. This schedule will allow maximum class time and minimum time away from home, and provide a cost-efficient way to deliver classes to a rural Alaska audience. Participants who complete the training will earn up to five state and 23 federal certifications. Alaska Forum Inc. is targeting unemployed and underemployed residents of underserved rural and Alaska Native communities. Key partners include Kodiak Island Borough, Jacobs, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Cook Inlet Tribal Council, University of Washington NIEHS Worker Training Program, Kawerak, Inc., NRC Alaska, Knik Tribal Council, and UMIAQ Environmental.