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  Brownfields  2005

  Grant Fact  Sheet

           Concurrent

          Technologies

Corporation, Southeast

        North Carolina

 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
 brownfields job training grants provide residents of
 communities impacted by brownfields with the skills
 and training needed to effectively gain employment in
 assessment and cleanup activities associated with
 brownfield redevelopment and environmental
 remediation. Additionally, funding support is provided to
 state and tribal response programs through a separate
 mechanism.
 Community Description
 Concurrent Technologies Corporation was selected to
 receive a job training grant. The proposal targets three
 counties in Southeastern North Carolina, and Robeson
 County (population 123,339) in particular. Robeson
                                   Job Training Grant
                                   $200,000
                                   EPA has selected Concurrent Technologies
                                   Corporation (CTC) for a job training grant. CTC
                                   plans to train 75 students, place 60 graduates in
                                   environmental jobs, and track students for one
                                   year. The 240-hour training program includes
                                   HAZWOPER, OSHA Class I/asbestos emer-
                                   gency response, asbestos abatement, and innova-
                                   tive and alternative treatment technologies
                                   instruction. Other courses include lead worker,
                                   mold remediation, OSHA general industry stan-
                                   dards, heavy equipment operation and safety, and
                                   hazardous materials handling and shipping.
                                   Students will be recruited from the Lumbee Tribe
                                   and residents of Robeson, Scotland, and
                                   Cumberland Counties, North Carolina. Graduates
                                   will be placed in environmental jobs through CTC
                                   contacts and the Center for Indian Health and
                                   Environmental Technologies, the non-profit
                                   affiliate of Porter Scientific, Inc.
                                   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 4 Brownfields Team
                                   404-562-8660
                                   http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf/index.htm
                                   Grant Recipient: Concurrent Technologies Corpo-
                                   ration, NC
                                   803-748-7662
                                   The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
                                   yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
                                   in this fact sheet are subject to change.
                                County, which is a federally designated Enterprise
                                Community, ranks 99 out of 100 counties in North
                                Carolina in its ability to create j obs, maintain a local
                                employed labor force, and attract income from other
                                                 Solid Waste and
                                                 Emergency Response
                                                 (5105T)
                                                        EPA 560-F-05-259
                                                        May 2005
                                                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

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regions. Approximately 23 percent of Robeson County
residents live in poverty. In the year 2000, the county's
unemployment rate was 3.5 percentage points greater
than the rates in surrounding counties. Robeson
County is racially diverse, with American Indians
comprising nearly 40 percent of the population. In
addition to county residents, this program also targets
the Lumbee Tribe, which extends into the neighboring
counties of Scotland and Cumberland. A survey of
potential public and private sector employers through-
out the region indicated that 50 percent are willing to
hire program graduates as environmental technicians.

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