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.
$458,358.00
EPA has selected Cornerstones of Care for a Brownfields Job Training Grant. Cornerstones of Care plans to train 50 students and place at least 25 in environmental jobs. The training program includes 180 hours of instruction in 40-Hour HAZWOPER, Eco-Community Build Action, Forestry Restoration, Landscape Restoration, Environmental Data Analysis, Eco-Community Build Engagement, Conservation Job Readiness, and General Industry. Students who complete the training will earn up to two federal certifications. Cornerstones of Care is targeting students within the Kansas City neighborhoods of Palestine East, Leeds-Dunbar, Marlborough, Swope Park, Blue Valley Park, and Martin City, specifically under-resourced youth who lack critical support for shelter, stable transportation, community, and food security and live under the poverty line. Key partners include Heartland Conservation Alliance, Native Lands Restoration Collaboration, Bridging the Gap, Kaw Valley Engineering, and True North Outdoor.