SB,
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Brownfields 2004
Grant Fact Sheet
Merrimack Valley
Workforce Investment
Board, Lawrence, MA
EPA Brownfields Program
EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, commu-
nities, and other stakeholders in economic development
to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up,
and sustainably reuse brownfields. Abrownfield site is
real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse
of which may be complicated by the presence or
potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant,
or contaminant. On January 11, 2002, President George
W. Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability
Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under the
Brownfields Law, EPA provides financial assistance to
eligible applicants through four competitive grant
programs: assessment grants, revolving loan fund
grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants. The job
training grants provide training for residents of commu-
nities affected by brownfields to prepare them for
employment in the assessment and cleanup of
brownfield sites. Additionally, funding support is
provided to state and tribal response programs through
a separate mechanism.
Community Description
The Merrimack Valley Workforce Investment Board
(MVWIB) was selected to receive a job training grant.
The focus of this grant will be on the City of
Lawrence's federally designated Renewal Community,
which is plagued by poverty, disinvestment, and other
problems, including the presence of a significant
number of brownfields. Renewal Community residents
primarily are Hispanic. The unemployment rates in
seven of the nine census tracts in the community
Job Training Grant
$197,035
EPA has selected the Merrimack Valley
Workforce Investment Board for a job training
grant. The MVWIB plans to train 40 students,
achieve a 75% placement rate, and track students
for one year. The program will consist of 168
hours of training, including courses in hazardous
waste and safety, asbestos and lead abatement,
and confined space entry. Ten students will be
eligible for additional training in environmental
sampling. Students will be recruited from the
Renewal Community of the City of Lawrence.
Placement of graduates in environmental jobs will
be assisted by the Valleyworks Career Center and
an employer advisory committee established to
support the job training program.
Contacts
For further information, including specific grant
contacts, additional grant information, brownfields
news and events, and publications and links, visit
the EPA Brownfields web site at: www.epa.gov/
brownfields.
EPA Region 1 Brownfields Team
617-918-1305
http://www.epa.gov/region01/brownfields/
Grant Recipient: Merrimack Valley Workforce
Investment Board, MA
978-682-7099
exceeds 25%. The city is working to clean up several
brownfields within the Renewal Community.
Remediation continues on the old Oxford Paper Mill
and is expected to intensify at the Quadrant component
of the Gateway Project, which will improve transporta-
tion in the Gateway area and add public space along
the canal. MVWIB expects demand for graduates of
the training program to be high. A survey of twelve
local environmental firms indicated that nine planned to
hire workers within the next two years.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA500-F-04-010
March 2004
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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