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 Cypress Mandela Training Center for an Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training grant. Cypress Mandela plans to train 75 students and place at least 70 graduates in environmental jobs. The 16-week training program includes 95 hours of instruction in 40-hour HAZWOPER, introduction to EPA and OSHA, waste site worker health and safety, confined space awareness, asbestos awareness, Phase II environmental site assessment, injury and illness prevention awareness program, hazard communication right to know, ergonomic hazards, mold awareness and inspection, and hazardous material training awareness. Participants who complete the training will earn six state or federal certifications. Cypress Mandela is targeting unemployed, underemployed, low-income, veteran, and minority residents of the City of Oakland, including ex-offenders and residents of communities impacted by waste facilities, blighted properties, and contaminated sites. Key partners include the Association of Bay Area Governments, the International Chemical Workers Union Council, the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District, Aerotek, Baines Group Inc., the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and Swinerton Builders.