SEPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-99-102
May 1999
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
Brownfields Job Training
and Development
Demonstration Pilot
Mineral Area College, MO
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 the Mineral Area College (MAC)
in Missouri for a Brownfields Job Training and
Development Demonstration Pilot. MAC's
assessment pilot partner is Bonne Terre, Missouri.
The Job Training Pilotwill focus on the Old Lead Belt
counties of Madison and St. Francois (population
25,000), located 60 miles south of St. Louis. The two
Ozark counties are characterized by small, aging,
rural communities that are economically distressed as
the result of the demise of the lead mining industry in
the area. Poverty and unemployment rates in these
communities are significantly higher than state-wide
and national averages.
The counties contain more than 400 acres of exposed
mine tailings and hundreds of acres of brownfields
created by their close proximity to tailings and the
abandonment of mining-related facilities. The six
municipalities participating in this Pilot are working to
improve transportation arteries and redevelop
hundreds of acres of brownfields. Two major national
environmental cleanup firms recently opened satellite
offices in the area. The increased brownfields
redevelopment activities and economic distress of
Mineral Area College,
Missouri
PILOT SNAPSHOT Date of Announcement:
May 1999
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot will train 50
participants in a mine waste site
assessment and cleanup program
with an emphasis on innovative
technologies. Students will be
recruited from low-income residents
of the Old Lead Belt, which has been
economically depressed since the
demise of the mining industry in the
area during the 1970s.
Contacts:
Mineral Area College Regional Brownfields Team
(573)518-2153 U.S. EPA - Region 7
(913)551-7786
Visit the EPA Region 7 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region07/specinit/
brown/brownfields.htm
For further 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/
-------
Old Lead Belt residents indicate a need for
environmental training.
TRAINING OBJECTIVES
MAC plans to train 50 participants, achieve a 65
percent placement rate, and support career placement
of graduates for at least two years after the Pilot is
completed. Participants will be recruited from low-
income residents ofthe Old Lead Beltmunicipalities.
The Pilot training program will consist of a 3 0 credit-
hourmine waste site assessmentand cleanup program
that emphasizes innovative technologies, leading to a
Brownfields Worker Certification.
MAC's training efforts will be supported by
organizations such as the Bonne Terre Brownfields
Committee, East Missouri Action Agency, Unitec
Career Center, six municipalities in the Old Lead Belt,
and the Park Hills Chamber of Commerce. Graduates
can apply their training toward an Associate's Degree,
and internships with local environmental companies
are available.
ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Conducting outreach to recruit low-income residents
ofthe Old Lead Belt;
• Conducting mining-related brownfields technician
training, including courses in the use of innovative
assessment and cleanup technologies; and
• Supporting career placement of students foratleast
two years 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 Mineral Area College, Missouri
May 1999 EPA500-F-99-102
------- |