United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-01-361
December 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Brownfields Job Training
and Development
Demonstration Pilot
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation,
Nespelem, Washington
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other
stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and
sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and
an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded
up to $250,000 over two years) to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models; job training
pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years) to provide training for residents of communities affected
by brownfields to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental
field; and cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $1,000,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds
to make loans for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states,
tribes, municipalities, and communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods
to promote a unified approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.
BACKGROUND
EPA has selected the Confederated Tribes of the
Colville Reservation for a Brownfields Job Training
and Development Demonstration Pilot. The
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation also
is a recipient of a Brownfields Assessment Pilot. The
Reservation is located in a remote area of north-
central Washington near the Canadian border. Tribal
membership is 8,500 and approximately half of the
members live on the Reservation, where
unemployment is 45 %.
The Indian Health Service has identified 10 brownfields
on the Reservation, and the Tribal Planning Department
has identified 173 illegal dump sites on the Reservation.
The Brownfields Assessment Pilot is addressing the
Agency Headquarters site in Nespelem and another
site located in Inchelium. The sites are located within
two of four federal Enterprise Communities on the
Reservation. The Enterprise Communities are actively
engaged in housing, infrastructure, and economic
redevelopment projects. Because of its remote location
and the lack of trained environmental technicians
living on the Reservation, the cost of bringing trained
technicians onto the Reservation to address known or
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Nespelem,
Washington
Date of Announcement:
December 2001
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot will train 40
students as environmental
technicians. Students will be
recruited from low-income
residents of the Colville
Reservation, where the
unemployment rate is 45% and
173 illegal dumpsites have been
identified.
Contacts:
Confederated Tribes of the
Colville Reservation
(509)634-2723
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 10
(206)553-7299
Visit the EPA Region 10 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/r10earth/
Forfurtherinformation,includingspecific Pilot contacts,
additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and
publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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suspected contamination hinders Tribal redevelopment
efforts. Training is needed for local residents to allow
the Tribe to address brownfields and other
contamination problems.
TRAINING OBJECTIVES
The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation
plans to train 40 students, achieve a 75% placement
rate, and support career placement of graduates for
one year after the training is completed. Students will
be recruited from low-income residents of the Colville
Reservation. The 224-hour Pilot hazardous materials
technician training program will consist of
HAZWOPER, lead abatement, asbestos abatement,
confined space, spill response, and trenching and
excavation safety, including training in the use of
innovative assessment and cleanup technologies.
The training efforts of the Confederated Tribes of the
Colville Reservation will be supported by
organizations such as the Tribal Vocational
Rehabilitation Program, Tribal Employment and
Training Program, Wenatchee Valley College North,
Highline Community College, and Worksafe Institute
of Washington. The Colville Tribes have enacted a
Tribal Employment Rights Ordinance requiring
employers operating on the Reservation to give hiring
preference to members of the Colville Tribes. Training
program participants will earn Continuing Education
Units that may be applied to an associates or bachelors
degree in the environmental field.
ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Conducting outreach to recruit low-income residents
of the Colville Reservation;
• Conducting training for entry-level positions as
brownfields technicians, including courses in the
use of innovative assessment and cleanup
technologies; and
• Supporting career placement of students for one
year after the job training is completed.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Brownfields Job Training and Development Demonstration Pilot
December2001
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Nespelem, Washington
EPA500-F-01-361
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