I
                           UJ
 Brownfields  2006

 Grant  Fact  Sheet

           Mississippi

       Department of

Environmental Quality



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 Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
was selected to receive a job training grant.  The focus
of this project is the six coastal counties of Mississippi
most ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. Pearl River,
  Job Training Grant
  $200,0000
  EPA has selected the Mississippi Department of
  Environmental Quality for a job training grant.
  The state plans to train 50 students and place 37
  in entry-level environmental technician jobs.
  Graduates will be tracked for one year. The 576-
  hour training program will be conducted by
  Mississippi State University. Courses will include
  HAZWOPER, construction skills, hazardous
  materials handling, introduction to underground
  storage tanks, lead and asbestos abatement,
  refresher courses, and field work. Students will be
  recruited from among disadvantaged residents of
  the six coastal counties impacted by Hurricane
  Katrina. The Mississippi Department of Employ-
  ment Security, through its existing relationships
  with numerous environmental contractors, will
  assist with placing 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 4 Brownfields Team
  404-562-8660
  http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf/index.htm
  Grant Recipient: Mississippi Department of
  Environmental Quality
  601-961-5654
  The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
  yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
  in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Hancock, George, Harrison, and Jackson Counties
have a total population of 446,000. Hurricane Katrina
left thousands of residents without homes or a source
of income. The state has not yet been able to accu-
                                                Solid Waste and
                                                Emergency Response
                                                (5105T)
                        EPA 560-F-05-275
                        December 2005
                        www.epa.gov/brownfields

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rately estimate the percentage of residents in the
impacted areas who now are unemployed or living in
poverty. Prior to Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi had
identified 200 brownfields in the target area. Many
more potential brownfields were created by the hurri-
cane as dry cleaners, gas stations, maintenance shops,
and other potentially contaminated sites were com-
pletely destroyed. This job training program will enable
hard-hit residents to take advantage of jobs created by
the assessment and cleanup of brownfields in their
communities.

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