I
UJ
Brownfields 2006
Grant Fact Sheet
Blackfeet Community
College, Browning,
MT
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
Blackfeet Community College was selected to receive
a job training grant. The tribally owned college is
located on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, which
encompasses more than 1.5 million acres in north
Job Training Grant
$187,9140
EPA has selected Blackfeet Community College
for a job training grant. The college plans to train
30 students and place 21 in environmental jobs.
Graduates will be tracked for one year. The 246-
hour training program will include HAZWOPER/
HAZMAT certification and course work in
hazardous materials management, lead risk
assessment, asbestos and mold abatement,
methamphetamine lab cleanup, and geographic
information systems. Montana Tech will provide a
majority of the training, although the college plans
to hire additional qualified Native American
instructors. A limited number of training spots will
be made available to non-tribal members residing
on the reservation. The Blackfeet Tribal Employ-
ment Rights Office will assist in the placement
and support of trainees throughout their first year
of employment.
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 8 Brownfields Team
303-312-7074
http://www.epa.gov/region08/brownfields
Grant Recipient: Blackfeet Community College,
MT
406-338-5441
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
central Montana. More than 12,000 people live within
the boundaries of the reservation, which is the area
targeted by this grant. The unemployment rate for the
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA 560-F-05-272
December 2005
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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[=Jervation is nearly 63 percent, compared with a
state-wide average of 4.3 percent. The Blackfeet
Indian Reservation has suffered numerous environmen-
tal, cultural, social, and economic impacts from activi-
ties such as transcontinental railroad transportation, oil
and gas development, operation of a pencil factory, and
the unregulated dumping of hazardous materials. Site
inventories are currently being conducted by the
Blackfeet Environmental Office, and several potential
brownfields have been identified, including old industrial
properties, gas and service stations, dumping sites,
methamphetamine labs, buildings contaminated with
asbestos and black mold, automobile junk yards, and
mine-scarred lands. This grant will provide the funds
necessary to train low income heads of households
who are continuously underemployed or who have
been unemployed for an extended period of time.
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