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 communities affected by environmental pollution, economic disinvestment, and brownfields and place them in environmental jobs. Since the program was created in 1998, EPA has funded 335 job training grants totaling over $72 million through the Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training program. A total of 18,541 individuals have been trained and 13,751 individuals have been placed in full-time careers related to land remediation and environmental health and safety. The average starting wage for these jobs is more than $14 an hour. This equates to a cumulative placement rate of approximately 74%.
$197,164.00
EPA has selected the Kern County Builders Exchange for an Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training grant. The Kern County Builders Exchange plans to train 50 students and place at least 45 in environmental jobs. The training program includes 236 hours of instruction, including: 40-hour HAZWOPER, OSHA 30-hour, Oil and Gas Remediation, RCRA Hazardous Waste Management, Welding and Hot Work, CPR/First Aid/AED, Confined Space Entry, Line Locating, Industrial Truck Operation, Emissions and Air Permitting, Blueprint Reading, and Threatened and Endangered Species Awareness. Students who complete the training will earn up to 10 state and six federal certifications. The Kern County Builders Exchange is targeting residents who are unemployed, underemployed, low-income, minority, or impacted by petroleum brownfields, waste facilities, or contaminated sites and live in Kern, Ventura, Fresno, Kings, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Tulare Counties. Key partners include the Kern Economic Development Foundation, Kern County Veterans Service Department, Brown's Construction Service, Inc., Truitt Oilfield Maintenance Corporation, J. Torres Company, Inc., KSI, Coles Environmental Services, Kern High School District's Regional Occupation Center, Kern Community College District, and Kern Patriot Partnership.