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.
$444,000.00
EPA has selected the City of Pittsburg for a Brownfields Job Training Grant. The City of Pittsburg plans to train 136 students and place at least 102 in environmental jobs. The training program includes 454 hours of instruction in 40-Hour HAZWOPER, Refinery Safety-BAT Card, Forklift, Flagger, Emergency Response, Confined Space Entry, Traffic Control, OSHA 10, CPR/First Aid, Construction Math, Clean Communities, CASAS Basic Skills Assessment, MC3, Employability Week-Employer, Green Construction, and Community Benefit. Students who complete the training will earn up to four federal certifications. The City of Pittsburg is targeting students within the City of Pittsburg and Contra Costa's Northern Waterfront Region, specifically low-income, and minority residents, particularly those who are unemployed or underemployed. Key partners include GRID Alternatives, Open Opportunities, Pittsburg Adult Education Center, Contra Costa County Workforce Development Board, Pittsburg Power Company, NWEDI Northern Waterfront Economic Development Initiative, Laborers Training Trust, Contra Costa Building and Construction Trades Council, Iron Workers Local 378, Operating, Engineers Local 3, Laborers Local 324, Plumbers Local 159, Kaiser Permanente Community Foundation, Contra Costa County Keller Canyon Mitigation Funds, BART, Cal Trans, Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing, East Bay Municipal Utility District, ENGIE, and Contra Costa County Sanitation District.