Brownfields 2009 Job Training Grant
Fact Sheet
Richmond, CA
RECOUERY.GOV
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
February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into
law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The
Recovery Act is an unprecedented effort to jumpstart our
economy, and create or save millions of jobs. This law
provided stimulus funds to the Brownfields Program to
award grants to train unemployed or underemployed
individuals to evaluate and clean up former industrial and
commercial sites. Under this law, EPA will provide
financial assistance to eligible applicants through four
competitive grant programs: assessment grants, revolving
loan fund grants, cleanup grants, and job training grants.
Community Description
The City of Richmond was selected to receive a job
training grant. Located in the San Francisco Bay area,
Richmond (population 101,454) grew rapidly during
World War II, and became a center of heavy industry and
petrochemical production. In recent years, however, it has
experienced large-scale deindustrialization, which has led
to unemployment and poverty rates that are higher than
the state and national averages. Brownfields within the
city cover a total area of over 321 acres. The city's job
training program will help prepare workers to assist with
the revitalization of these areas. Labor market assessments
show promising employment opportunities in
environmental cleanup and green jobs in the San
Francisco Bay area, and the field of hazardous material
removal is expected to grow by six percent. Several
projects are currently underway within the city that
promise to provide substantial environmental
opportunities, including a lead abatement project that will
generate about 200 jobs in the next three years.
Job Training Grant
$500,000
EPA has selected the City of Richmond for a job
training grant. The city plans to train 128 students,
place 102 graduates in environmental jobs, and
track graduates for one year. The training program
will consist of 250 hours of training in a variety of
environmental, green technology, and construction
skills. Graduates will receive six certifications,
including HAZWOPER; lead, asbestos, and mold
abatement; and solar technology and installation.
The primary trainers will be staff from the
Richmond Employment and Training Department,
as well as instructors from private environmental
training firms who will be identified through a
competitive procurement process. The city will
work with private environmental companies with
local facilities such as MS Environmental
Solutions, Veolia Water, and the Chevron
Corporation 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
(http://www.epa.gov/brownfields).
EPA Region 9 Brownfields Team
(415) 972-3091
EPA Region 9 Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/region9/bro wnfields)
Grant Recipient: City of Richmond,CA
(510)307-8006
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
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 560-F-09-491
August 2009
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