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Brownfields 2007
Grant Fact Sheet
Roanoke, VA
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 Roanoke was selected to receive a job
training grant. Located in southern Virginia, Roanoke is
steadily losing population to the surrounding county,
which is significantly more affluent than the city. In the
Job Training Grant
$173,263
EPA has selected the City of Roanoke for a job
training grant. Roanoke plans to train 45 students,
place 26 graduates in environmental jobs, and
track students for one year. The training program
will provide 270 hours of course work in hazard-
ous waste operations and response, sampling
techniques, lead and asbestos abatement, and
OSHA general and construction industry. Good-
will Industries, This Valley Works, and the Virginia
Employment Commission will provide referrals to
the program. Students will be recruited from the
communities surrounding the brownfields redevel-
opment target areas adjacent to the Roanoke
River Greenway and the South Jefferson Rede-
velopment Area. The primary trainer will be the
Virginia Western Community College. Roanoke
will work with the Western Virginia Workforce
Development Board and Virginia Employment
Commission 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 3 Brownfields Team
215-814-3246
http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bfs/index.htm
Grant Recipient: City of Roanoke, VA
540-853-2344
The cooperative agreement for this grant has not
yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described
in this fact sheet are subject to change.
neighborhoods targeted for recruitment (population
4,846), the median household income is 22 percent
Solid Waste and
Emergency Response
(5105T)
EPA 560-F-06-256
November 2006
www.epa.gov/brownfields
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lower than that of the city median. Some census blocks
in the target neighborhoods suffer from a poverty rate
of 56 percent, and 40 percent of residents are minori-
ties. Anumber of the city's long-dormant brownfields
are situated along the Roanoke River flood plain. Many
of these properties were abandoned following a decline
in the city's manufacturing base and railroad industry.
These deteriorated properties have depleted capital
from the city's economy and contributed to blight and
poverty. With brownfields redevelopment activities
underway for the South Jefferson Redevelopment
Area and Roanoke River Greenway, skilled environ-
mental technicians are needed to address the environ-
mental conditions and prepare the properties for new
development, parks, and recreation.
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