EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, Tribal Nations, 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, Tribal Nations, 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 Brownfields Job Training Grants. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.
Brownfields 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 371 job training grants totaling over $79 million through the Brownfields Job Training program. A total of 20,341 individuals have been trained and 15,168 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 75 percent.
$500,000.00
EPA has selected Kaunalewa for a Brownfields Job Training grant. Kaunalewa plans to train 230 students and place at least 125 in environmental jobs. The training program includes up to 226 hours of instruction over three different tracks in 40-Hour HAZWOPER, OSHA 10, CPR/AED/First Aid, FEMA IS 100.c, FEMA IS 700.b, Core Operations, Lead Awareness, Asbestos Awareness, Sawyer-1, Field: Recovery and Remediation in Practices, Stormwater BMPs for Rural Communities, NGICIP, Field: SGI Tour and Application, and Restoration Hands-on Fields Lab. The program also will offer 36 hours of National Green Infrastructure Certification Program training to Instructors. Students who complete the training, depending on the track, will earn up to five federal certifications. Kaunalewa is targeting students within the Moku Kona community, specifically native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. Key partners include the Ke Kula Niihau O Kekaha Public Charter School, the Kekaha Disaster Response Team, the Kekaha Hawaiian Homestead Association, the Mahina Anguay Waimea High School, Owen Environmental, and Roth Ecological.