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 Brownfields  2005

 Grant  Fact  Sheet

         Los Angeles

 Conservation Corps,

                  CA



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
The Los Angeles Conservation Corps was selected to
receive a job training grant. The grant will focus on the
federally designated  Los Angeles Empowerment Zone,
a 19-square-mile area with a population of 163,229.
The poverty rate in the Empowerment Zone is 40
                                   Job Training Grant
                                   $200,000
                                   EPA has selected the Los Angeles Conservation
                                   Corps for a job training grant. The Los Angeles
                                   Conservation Corps plans to train 50 students,
                                   place 50 graduates in environmental jobs, and
                                   track graduates for one year. The 240-hour
                                   training program will offer instruction in
                                   HAZWOPER, lead abatement, asbestos abate-
                                   ment, forklift certification, and environmental
                                   technologies. The Los Angeles Conservation
                                   Corps will be the primary trainer. Students to be
                                   recruited will be low-income, unemployed, and
                                   underemployed residents of the Los Angeles
                                   Empowerment Zone, a 19-square-mile area with
                                   a population of 163,229. The Los Angeles Conser-
                                   vation Corps has established a Brownfields
                                   Advisory Board comprised mainly of environmen-
                                   tal employers who will assist with job placement.
                                   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 9 Brownfields Team
                                   415-972-3143 or 415-972-3270
                                   http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/brown/
                                   index.html
                                   Grant Recipient: Los Angeles Conservation
                                   Corps, CA
                                   213-749-3601, ext. 204
                                   The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
                                   yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
                                   in this fact sheet are subject to change.
                                 percent, and unemployment is 18 percent. These
                                 compare to state-wide averages of 14 percent and
                                 seven percent, respectively. There are thousands of
                                 vacant and underused properties in Los Angeles, many
                                 of which are located along commercial and industrial
                                                 Solid Waste and
                                                 Emergency Response
                                                 (5105T)
                                                         EPA 560-F-05-256
                                                         May 2005
                                                         www.epa.gov/brownfields

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corridors and are suspected to be contaminated. The
location of these properties makes their economic
potential very high. The Los Angeles Brownfields
Revitalization Fund and other sources of funding are
spurring increased redevelopment activity in the
Empowerment Zone. Environmental employers partici-
pating in the city's Brownfields Advisory Board have
described increasing needs for certified environmental
technicians.

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