Brownfields 2010  Job Training  Grant Fact Sheet
              Community Development & Improvement Corporation, Aiken
              County, SC
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. In 2002,
the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields
Revitalization Act was passed to help states and
communities around the country cleanup and revitalize
brownfields sites. 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.
Additionally, funding support is provided to state and
tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.

Community Description

The Community Development & Improvement
Corporation was selected to receive a job training grant.
Located in western South Carolina in Aiken County
(population 154,071), the Community Development &
Improvement Corporation (CDIC) is a nonprofit
organization that serves as the administrative entity for
the Housing Authority of the City of Aiken's brownfields
program.  The target areas for this program are the
brownfields-impacted communities of Graniteville,
Vaucluse, and Warrenville. Aiken County was home to
the South's first large-scale cotton manufacturing plant,
the former Avondale Mills. The mills' closure in 2006 left
more than 2,000 residents without jobs. More than 15
percent of residents live below the poverty level, and 32
percent are minorities. There are at least 15 large
brownfields that encompass more than 250 acres in the
three target communities. The CDIC's labor market
assessment demonstrates a demand for hazardous
materials  removal workers, environmental engineering
technicians, and construction laborers. Two large-scale
construction projects with the U.S. Department of Energy
and a private power plant plan to hire more than 3,000
employees during the next 10 years, indicating a
continuing demand for workers with  the skills of program
graduates.
                     Job Training Grant

                     $200,000

                     EPA has selected the Community Development &
                     Improvement Corporation for a job training grant.
                     The Community Development & Improvement
                     Corporation (CDIC) plans to train 45 students,
                     place 29 graduates in environmental jobs, and
                     track graduates for one year. The training program
                     will consist of four nine-week, 326-hour training
                     cycles. Trainees will receive certifications in
                     40-hour HAZWOPER, OSHA construction,
                     OSHA confined space entry, and forklift operator.
                     Additional coursework in lead and asbestos
                     abatement, mold remediation, environmental
                     technologies,  and green technical skills (including
                     green construction techniques and solar panel
                     installation) will be offered. Primary trainers
                     include CDIC and Aiken Technical College.
                     Students will  be recruited from among
                     unemployed and underemployed residents of
                     Graniteville, Vaucluse, and Warrenville. To place
                     graduates in environmental jobs, the CDIC will
                     work with Aiken Technical College, local
                     government agencies, and private-sector employers
                     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 4 Brownfields Team
                     (404) 562-8792
                     EPA Region 4 Brownfields Web site
                     (http://www.epa.gov/region4/was te/bf)

                     Grant Recipient: Community Development &
                     Improvement Corporation,SC
                     (803) 663-6848

                     The  information presented in this fact sheet comes
                     from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the
  United States
  Environmental
  Protection Agency
  Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 560-F-10-250
      April 2010

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                                                           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 560-F-10-250
       April 2010

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