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 Honeybee Strategies for a Brownfields Job Training Grant. Honeybee Strategies plans to train 120 students and place at least 84 in environmental jobs. The core training program includes 101 hours of instruction in 40-Hour HAZWOPER, EPA Brownfields Program, First Aid/CPR/AED and Bloodborne Pathogens, OSHA Construction/General Industry Outreach, OSHA Disaster Site Worker, and FEMA 100 and 700. An additional 204 hours of optional instruction are available in All Appropriate Inquiry, Asbestos and Lead Awareness, Enhanced EH&S, Environmental Justice, Environmental Stewardship, FEMA Incident Command, Hazardous Waste Management, Introduction to Stormwater Management, Introduction to Water and Wastewater, and Spill Response and Cleanup. Students who complete the training will earn up to six federal certifications. Honeybee Strategies is targeting students within the Parishes of St. Bernard, Terrebonne, and East Baton Rouge, specifically minority, tribal members, low-income, and unemployed or underemployed individuals residing in areas impacted by environmental justice. Key partners include the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, Louisiana Brownfields Association, New Orleans Regional Planning Commission, South Central Planning and Development Commission, St. Bernard Economic Development Foundation, East Baton Rouge Parish Planning Commission, Build Baton Rouge, Inter-Tribal Council of Louisiana, Leeaf Environmental, Thompson Consulting Services, A&A Mechanical, and Premier Facility Services.