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Brownfields 2005
Grant Fact Sheet
Tucson, AZ
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 City of Tucson was selected to receive a job
training grant. The area targeted by this grant lies
within a federally designated Empowerment Zone and
the Westside Coalition Weed & Seed district. Of the
approximately 48,000 Empowerment Zone residents,
Job Training Grant
$200,000
EPA has selected the City of Tucson for a job
training grant. The city plans to train 40 students,
place 34 in environmental jobs, and track students
for 18 months. Pima County Community College
and the Southern Arizona Environmental Manage-
ment Society will serve as the primary trainers.
The 208-hour training program will include a 40-
hour HAZWOPER certification course, ten hours
of general industry training, and courses in media
sampling, environmental site assessment, environ-
mental compliance, lead and asbestos assessment
training, and innovative technologies. In addition,
each student will be paired with a mentor from
the Southern Arizona Environmental Management
Society. Students will be recruited from the city's
federally designated Empowerment Zone and the
Westside Coalition Weed & Seed program. The
city and its partners, Pima County Community
College and the Southern Arizona Environmental
Management Society, will assist in placing pro-
gram graduates with private and public sector
employers.
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: Tucson, AZ
520-791-5414
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA 560-F-05-258
May 2005
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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60 percent are minority, 70 percent are low-income.
and 15 percent are unemployed. The median family
income in the Empowerment Zone is 40 percent lower
than that of the surrounding areas. Of the approxi-
mately 12,000 Weed & Seed area residents, 76 percent
are Hispanic/Latino, 70 percent are low-income, and
12 percent are unemployed. The target area contains
numerous brownfield sites, including former gas
stations, automotive repair facilities, abandoned ware-
houses, railway yards, and vacant inner city structures.
Furthermore, the city has four active EPA-funded
assessment, cleanup, and revolving loan fund grants
within the proposed job training area. Local employers
have indicated a willingness to hire skilled field staff to
help return brownfields to productive use.
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