United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5101) EPA 500-F-98-244 August 1998 &EPA Brownfields Job Training and Development Demonstration Pilot Milwaukee Community Service Corps, Milwaukee, Wl Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101) Quick Reference Fact Sheet The Brownfields Job Training and Development Demonstration Pilots will each be funded up to $200,000 over two years. These Pilots will bring together community groups, job training organizations, educators, labor groups, investors, lenders, developers, and other affected parties to address the issue of providing environmental employment and training for residents in communities impacted by brownfields. The goals of the Pilots are to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites contaminated with hazardous substances and prepare trainees for employment in the environmental field, including training in alternative or innovative treatment technologies. BACKGROUND EPA has selected the Milwaukee Community Service Corps for a Brownfields Job Training and Development Demonstration Pilot. The Milwau- kee Community Service Corps will concentrate its workforce development efforts in Milwaukee County, which is a Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot. The Job Training Pilot will target the Menomonee River Valley area, once the industrial heart of Milwaukee. The target area has suffered a decline in shipping, rail, and manufacturing activities that has severely reduced employment. Approximately half of the 68,000 residents in the area are minori- ties. Residents suffer from a 39% poverty rate, 13% unemployment rate, and 41% high school dropout rate. The City and community-based, corporate, philanthropic, and State and local government organizations have partnered to initiate a number of assessment, cleanup, and redevelop- ment activities in the Menomonee J^iver Valley. These activities, combined with the strategic location of the Valley and economic distress of residents, indicate a need for environmental training. PILOT SNAPSHOT Milwaukee Community Service Corps, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Date of Announcement: August 1998 Amount: $200,000 Profile: The Pilot targets unemployed or otherwise disadvantaged young adults between the ages of 18 and 23 who reside in Milwaukee's Menomonee River Valley. Contacts: Milwaukee Community Service Corps (414) 276-6272 Regional Brownfields Team U.S. EPA-Region 5 (312)886-0995 Visit the EPA Region 5 Brownfields web siteat: http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/ Forfurther information, including specific 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/ ------- TRAINING OBJECTIVES The Milwaukee Community Service Corps plans to train 22 students with the EPA grant, achieve a 95% placement rate, and track students for up to one year. Participants to be targeted will be unemployed or otherwise disadvantaged young adults between the ages of 18 and 23 who reside in the Menomonee River Valley. The Pilot training program will consist of a 12-month curriculum, including training in the use of innovative assess- ment and cleanup technologies. Participants who complete the environmental training will satisfy course requirements within local associate degree programs. The training efforts of the Milwaukee Community Service Corps will be supported by organizations such as the Sixteenth Street Commu- nity Health Center, Milwaukee Economic Devel- opment Corporation, and HNTB Companies. ACTIVITIES Activities planned as part of this Pilot include: • Developing a curriculum for brownfields assessment and cleanup; • Conducting brownfields assessment and cleanup training, including courses in the use of innovative assessment and cleanup technologies; and • Conducting outreach to recruit disadvantaged young adults residing in the Menomonee River Valley. 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 August 1998 Milwaukee Community Service Corps, Milwaukee, Wisconsin EPA 500-F-98-244 ------- |