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Brownfields 2008
Grant Fact Sheet
Cypress Mandela
Training Center, Inc.,
Oakland, 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 con-
taminant. On January 11, 2002, President George W.
Bush signed into law the Small Business Liability Relief
and Brownfields Revitalization Act. Under this 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 Cypress Mandela Training Center, Inc. (CMTC),
was selected to receive a job training grant. CMTC is
located in Oakland (population 411,755), which is a
federally designated Enhanced Enterprise Community.
CMTC's brownfields job training program will focus on
Job Training Grant
$200,000
EPA has selected the Cypress Mandela Training
Center, Inc. (CMTC), for a job training grant.
CMTC plans to train 100 students, place 80
graduates in environmental jobs, and track
graduates for one year. The training program will
consist of five 16-week, 640-hour training cycles
leading to certifications for hazardous waste
worker, lead cleanup, asbestos removal, and
confined space entry. The primary trainers will be
Cypress Mandela and the Center to Protect
Workers' Rights. Cypress Mandela and its
partners will recruit students from economically
disadvantaged inner-city neighborhoods, with a
focus on minorities and women. The Oakland
Private Industry Council also will refer students to
the program. Cypress Mandela will work with the
Alameda County Building and Construction
Trades Council, the Associated General Contrac-
tors and Minority Contractors Associations, and
other business organizations to place graduates in
environmental j obs.
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.
Wallace Woo, EPA Region 9
415-972-3270
http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/brown/
index.html
Grant Recipient: Cypress Mandela Training
Center, Inc., CA
510-208-7350
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-08-234
March 2008
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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West Oakland, the city's most economically challenged
community. The poverty rate in this neighborhood is
nearly 40 percent, and the unemployment rate is more
than 20 percent. Approximately 94 percent of West
Oakland residents are minorities. The area contains
numerous brownfields, is frequented by illegal dumpers,
and is exposed to high levels of diesel emissions.
Oakland has more than 500 sites that are contaminated
or suspected to be contaminated. Most of these sites
are located in West and East Oakland along former
industrial corridors. According to the state, the demand
for environmental workers in Oakland will increase in
the coming years, indicating a strong job market for
environmental technicians.
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