Brownfields  2003 Job Training Grant  Fact Sheet
    *         Fort Belknap Indian Community, MT
EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states.
communities, and other stakeholders to work together to
prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse
brownfields. A brownfield 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. Additionally, funding
support is provided to state and tribal response
programs through a separate mechanism.

Community Description

The Fort Belknap Indian Community was selected to
receive a job training grant. The Fort Belknap Indian
Reservation has a tribal membership of 5,700 tribal
members, of which 2,900 reside on the reservation. The
remote location of the reservation contributes to an
extremely high unemployment rate, which is at 71%
compared to 4% in the surrounding counties. Being an
agricultural economy, environmental training can help
preserve natural and cultural tribal resources and
provide jobs for residents. There are numerous potential
brownfields on the reservation, including abandoned
gold mining operations, abandoned buildings,
abandoned railroad facilities, and many illegal dump
sites. Because of the area's remote location and lack of
trained local technicians, many other environmental
problems remain uninvestigated. The grant will train
local residents to address the community's many
environmental concerns.
                   Job Training Grant

                   $200,000

                   EPA has selected the Fort Belknap Indian
                   Community for a brownfields job training grant. The
                   Fort Belknap Indian Community and its partners
                   plan to train 60 students, achieve a 70% placement
                   rate, and track students for one year. The two-year,
                   3 70-hour training program consists of seven courses
                   in a hazardous waste track offered during the first
                   year of the program and eight courses in a
                   remediation/ecosystem track offered during the
                   second year. Students will include local residents of
                   the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation and will be
                   assisted in finding employment by the Tribal
                   Employment Rights Opportunity (TERO) training
                   program.

                   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
                   (http://www.epa.gov/brownfields).

                   EPA Region 8 Brownfields Team
                   (303)312-7074
                   EPA Region 8 Brownfields Web site
                   (http://www.epa.gov/region8/brownfields)

                   Grant Recipient: Fort Belknap Indian Community,
                   MT
                   (406)353-8429

                   The information presented in this fact sheet comes
                   from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the
                   accuracy of this information. The cooperative
                   agreement for the grant has not yet been negotiated.
                   Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are
                   subject to change.
  United States
  Environmental
  Protection Agency
  Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 500-F-03-024
        May 03

-------