Brownfields 2004 Job Training Grant Fact Sheet
Lewiston, ME
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PRO"11
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 City of Lewiston was selected to receive a job
training grant. Lewiston (population 35,390) is an urban
service center surrounded by rural communities. The
city will focus this grant on its federally designated
Enterprise Community (EC). The EC is a residentially
dense community with a 42% poverty rate and over 8%
unemployment. Poverty and unemployment rates are
three to four times higher than those of the city, county,
or state. An influx of 1,000 immigrants from Somali
has increased employment needs, but the city lost 400
jobs last year, mostly in the manufacturing sector. Two
of the city's largest brownfields sites within the heart of
downtown will be ready for cleanup this year, and
environmental contractors in the area report a need for
trained environmental technicians. The employment
outlook for sustainable brownfields-related jobs is very
promising.
Job Training Grant
$200,000
EPA has selected the City of Lewiston for a job
training grant. The city plans to train 75-85 students,
achieve an 85% placement rate, and track students
for one year. The program will be offered on both a
slow track and fast track to make it available to as
many participants as possible. The slow track will
offer evening classes for participants who are
employed or underemployed. The fast track will
offer full-time instruction that can be completed in
42 days. The core 171-hour program will include
hazardous waste heath and safety, lead and asbestos
abatement, and construction, followed by courses in
either hazardous waste transport (78 hours) or
brownfields redevelopment (82 hours). Students will
be recruited from Androscoggin County, with a
focus on Lewiston's Enterprise Community. The city
will work with the Central/Western Maine
Workforce Investment Board Career Center,
abatement contractors, and the Maine Department of
Environmental Protection to place graduates in
environmental j obs.
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 1 Brownfields Team
(617) 918-1424
EPA Region 1 Brownfields Web site
(http: //www. epa.gov/region 1 /brownfields)
Grant Recipient: City of Lewiston,ME
(207) 784-2951 ext 315
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	c
Environmental	anri Fmpflpn™	EPA 500-F-04-009
nil- a	ancl Emergency	..
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	Mar 04
Washington, DC 20450	^ v '

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United States	c
Environmental	anri Fmpflpn™	EPA 500-F-04-009
j. j.- a	ancl Emergency	..
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	Mar 04
Washington, DC 20450	^ v '

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