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Brownfields 2005
Grant Fact Sheet
Downriver Community
Conference, Wayne
and Monroe Counties,
Ml
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 Downriver Community Conference (DCC) was
selected to receive a job training grant. DCC estab-
lished and coordinates the activities of the Downriver
Area Brownfields Consortium (DABC), which is a
syndicate created to address the environmental and
Job Training Grant
$200,000
EPA has selected the Downriver Community
Conference (DCC) for a job training grant. DCC
plans to train 80 students, place 64 in environmen-
tal jobs, and track students for one year. The
primary trainer for this program will be Wayne
County Community College. Students will earn
certification in HAZMAT awareness,
HAZWOPER, confined space entry, asbestos
contact supervisor initial training, lead worker,
mold remediation supervisor, and field sampling
skills development. Incentives to hire include on-
the-job training contracts with employers, which
pay up to 50 percent of new hires' wages during a
specified training period. Students will be re-
cruited from residents of the ten member commu-
nities in the Downriver Area Brownfields Consor-
tium. Placement will be facilitated through the
career development facilitators assigned to each
student, DCC's job placement specialists who will
maintain contact with area employers, and job
fairs.
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 5 Brownfields Team
312-886-4747
http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/
Grant Recipient: Downriver Community Confer-
ence, MI
734-362-3477
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
economic impacts of abandoned or underused contami-
nated properties in Wayne and Monroe Counties in
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA 560-F-05-261
May 2005
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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southeast Michigan. Each of the ten members of the
DABC has been the recipient of an EPA-funded
assessment grant, and five of the members also have
received RLF grants. Poverty in DABC communities
ranges from 2-13 percent, and unemployment ranges
from 2.8-6.4 percent. Two of the highest-need commu-
nities, River Rouge and Ecorse, have median incomes
under $20,000, and between 36 and 43 percent of
residents do not have a high school diploma. The state
has identified 305 leaking underground storage tanks
and 57 hazardous waste brownfields in the DABC
area. Wayne County, the location of a number of
DABC members, has approximately 2,000 identified
brownfields sites. A survey of employers, environmen-
tal contractors, and brownfields site owners in the area
indicated that trained environmental technicians are the
number one employer need.
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