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 awarded 414 job training grants totaling over $100.5 million through Brownfield Job Training Programs. With these grants, more than 21,500 individuals have completed training and over 16,370 individuals have been placed in careers related to land remediation and environmental health and safety. This equates to a cumulative placement rate of approximately 75 percent. The average starting wage for these jobs is more than $15 an hour.
$500,000.00
EPA has selected the Workforce Development Board of Herkimer, Madison, and Oneida Counties (WDB HMO) for a Brownfields Job Training Grant. WDB HMO plans to train 100 students and place 90 in environmental jobs. The training program includes 189 hours of instruction in 40-Hour HAZWOPER, OSHA Lead in Construction, OSHA Construction Industry Health and Safety Program, OSHA Confined Space, EPA Lead Renovation, Repair, and Repainting, Environmental Awareness/Sustainable Practices/Community Issues/Environmental Justice concepts and local issues and impacts, Global Hazard Communication, Site Safety Training Worker, Asbestos Handler, Mold Remediation, and Blood Borne Pathogens. Students who complete the training will earn up to four state and two federal certifications. WDB HMO is targeting students within the City of Utica, focusing on under-represented and historically marginalized populations. Key partners include Oneida County Workforce Development, Mohawk Valley Community College, Rochester Specialty Contractors, Ambient Environmental, Indium Corporation, Central New York Labor Council, Oneida County Health Department, Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority, Midtown Utica Community Center, Mohawk Valley Latino Center, NAACP, and Hope Chapel AME Zion Church.