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 E3 Solutions, Inc. for a Brownfields Job Training Grant. E3 Solutions, Inc. plans to train 90 students and place at least 85 in environmental jobs. The training program includes 248 hours of instruction in 40-Hour HAZWOPER, First Aid/CPR, Lead RRP, Air Monitoring, Sampling and Testing/Chemistry for Environmental Technicians, OSHA 10-Hour, NIMS Levels 100 and 700 OSHA 7.5 HR Disaster Site Worker, Asbestos Worker, Forklift Training, Alabama Career Essential Program, Brownfields 101, Fundamentals of Environmental Justice Training, Mold, Climate Change/Resiliency, and Site Surveying, Mapping Blueprint Reading. Students who complete the training will earn up to eight state and federal certifications. E3 Solutions, Inc. is targeting students within the City of Selma, specifically unemployed and underemployed individuals. Key partners include PM Environmental, ENGR Solutions, LLC, Alabama Department of Environmental Management, Wallace Community College Selma, Northern Heights Presbyterian Vision Team, Environmental Staffing, and City of Selma's Office of the Mayor.