I
                           UJ
 Brownfields  2007
 Grant  Fact Sheet
 OAI, Inc.,  Chicago,  IL
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

OAI, Inc., was selected to receive  a job training grant.
The training program will be offered in Chicago
(population 2,895,964), where approximately 26 percent
of the city's residents are Hispanic and 37 percent are
Job Training Grant
$200,000
EPA has selected OAI, Inc., for a job training
grant. OAI plans to train 60 participants, place 40
in environmental jobs, and track graduates for a
minimum of one year. The training program will
provide two 1,600-hourjob training cycles focused
on environmental jobs in three skill tracks: ecologi-
cal restoration, environmental remediation, and
health and safety. Students will receive OSHA-
and EPA-recognized certifications in ten courses,
including asbestos and lead abatement,
HAZWOPER, mold remediation, and hazardous
material emergency response awareness. OAI
will partner with the City of Chicago Department
of the Environment's Greencorps Job Training
Program to provide the training. Students will be
recruited from areas directly impacted by
brownfields, with a focus on residents living in
three of Chicago's Empowerment Zones. OAI
will work with the Greencorps Job Training
Program and the Mayor's  Office of Workforce
Development to place graduates in environmental
jobs.
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: OAI, Inc., IL
312-528-3500

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-06-259
                      November 2006
                      www.epa.gov/brownfields

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African-American. The training program will target
residents living in areas impacted by brownfields sites.
with a primary focus on residents living in three of
Chicago's federally designated Empowerment Zones:
West Cluster; Pilsen/Little Village Cluster; and South
Cluster. These areas are located near former industrial
properties and are home to more than 200,000 resi-
dents. Assessment, remediation, and ecological restora-
tion jobs will be created through public-private partner-
ships that are facilitating the redevelopment of com-
mercial and residential brownfields and the restoring of
previously contaminated sites into recreational
parkland.

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