SEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5101) EPA 500-F-99-099 May 1999 www.epa.gov/brownfields/ Brownfields Job Training and Development Demonstration Pilot Hennepin County, MN Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101) 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 $200,000 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 $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds to make loans forthe 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 Hennepin County for a Brownfields Job Training and Development Demonstration Pilot. The county is also the recipient of a Brownfields Assessment Pilot. Hennepin County will focus on neighborhoods within and around downtown Minneapolis, which encompasses a state-designated Enterprise Zone and federally designated Enterprise Community (population 49,000). Formerly apreferred location for heavy industry, the urban core of Minneapolis has declined because of the movement of industry to the suburbs. More than half of the residents are African- American, Native American, Asian/Pacific Islander, or Hispanic. Minneapolis has one of the highest concentrations of poverty of any metropolitan area in the country. Unemployment among African Americans is 28 percent. The downtown area contains half of Minneapolis' hazardous waste generators, and numerous brownfields are located within low-income re sidential areas. The City of Minneapolis has targeted brownfields sites within the downtown area for assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment. Environmental firms in the city have reported difficulty PILOT SNAPSHOT Hennepin County, Minnesota Date of Announcement: May 1999 Amount: $199,752 Profile: The Pilot will train 100 participants as environmental technicians. Students willbe recruited from underemployed residents and single working mothers in downtown Minneapolis, which has lost many industriesto the suburbsand includes a state Enterprise Zone and federal Enterprise Community. Contacts: Hennepin County (612)348-3932 Regional Brownfields Team U.S. EPA-Region 5 (312)353-3161 Visit the EPA Region 5 Brownfields web site at: 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/ ------- in finding skilled labor within the urban core. The need for liveable-wage jobs for downtown residents and the need for skilled labor to assist in downtown redevelopment projects indicate a need for this Pilot. TRAINING OBJECTIVES Hennepin County plans to train 100 disadvantaged students, achieve a 75 percent placement rate, and track graduates for one year after completion of the training. The Pilot will target underemployed residents in downtown Minneapolis, with special emphasis on working single mothers. The Pilot training program will consist of a comprehensive 210-hour environmental technician training program, including training in the use of innovative assessment and cleanup technologies. The training efforts of Hennepin County will be supported by organizations such as The Green Institute, Hennepin Technical College,the Minneapolis Employment and Training Program, the West Metro Job Partner Network, Peer Environmental & Engineering Resources, Inc., Belair Excavating, Braun Intertec, and neighborhood associations. Potential employers have committed to providing apprenticeships to graduates and participating on an Advisory Committee. ACTIVITIES Activities planned as part of this Pilot include: • Conducting outreach to recruit underemployed residents of downtown Minneapolis, with an emphasis on working single mothers; • Conducting environmental technician training, including courses in the use of innovative assessment and cleanup technologies; • Supporting career placement of graduates 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 factsheetare subjectto change. Brownfields Job Training and Development Demonstration Pilot Hennepin County, Minnesota May 1999 EPA 500-F-99-099 ------- |