Elise Rindfleisch

November 18, 2006

As announced November 13, 2006, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will expend 2.34 million in Brownfields Job Training Grants in 2007. This is a 17% increase in funding over fiscal year 2006 levels; however, a larger sum of 2.47 million was awarded in 2004. The 12 grantees, which include both non-profit organizations and local governments, will each receive up to 200,000 dollars.

Brownfields Job Training Grants are used to teach environmental assessment and brownfield cleanup skills to individuals living in low-income areas near brownfields. These grant requirements are in accord with the Brownfields Job Training Grants Program's goal: "to recruit, train, and place residents from brownfields-impacted communities in careers in the environmental field which in turn promotes the assessment, remediation, or preparation of brownfield sites for redevelopment." Communities in 10 states—Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia, and Wisconsin—will benefit from the 2007 grants.

The EPA is authorized to fund these trainings under the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. This Act provides for federal funding of assessment and cleanup of brownfield sites. It allows for up to 250 million to be expended annually in brownfield grants.

Since 1998, the EPA has awarded over 22 million for brownfield-related job training. According to the EPA, 3,000 people have been trained. Approximately 60% of those individuals obtained environmental-related employment and earn of average of 13.26 per hour.

For more information, see:

United States Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Newsroom, 2.3 Million for Environmental Jobs Training, (Nov. 13, 2006), available at http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/68b5f2d54f3eefd28525701500517fbf/3c2c0c364f5ff62f852572250067ce69!OpenDocument.