Ql \ Brownfields 1998 Job Training Pilot Fact Sheet W 5 / Impact Services Corporation, Philadelphia, PA EPA Brownfields Initiative 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. Background EPA has selected Impact Services Corporation for a Brownfields Job Training and Development Demonstration Pilot. Impact Services Corporation will concentrate its workforce development efforts in the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which is a Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot. The Job Training Pilot will target a distressed area in North Central Philadelphia with a population of 117,000. The area encompasses the American Street Empowerment Zone and the North American Street Champion Community. The area's population is 58% minority and suffers from a 40% poverty rate, 20% unemployment rate, and an estimated 60% high school dropout rate. The City as a whole lost 67% of its manufacturing jobs between 1974 and 1994. Much of this job loss was in the residential neighborhoods that are part of the target area. This area is characterized by large vacant lots, abandoned commercial and industrial buildings, and deteriorating row houses. The efforts of Philadelphia to assess and clean up brownfields and address the lack of trained environmental technicians indicate a need for training. Pilot Snapshot Date of Announcement: 08/01/1998 Amount: $200,000 Profile: The Pilot targets unemployed and disadvantaged residents of the American Street Empowerment Zone and the North American Street Champion Community. 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 3 Brownfields Team (215)814-3129 EPA Region 3 Brownfields Web site (http ://www .epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bf-lr) Grant Recipient: Impact Services Corporation, Philadelphia, PA (215)739-0243 Objectives Impact Services Corporation plans to train 30 students with the EPA grant, achieve an 80% placement rate, and track students for one year. Participants to be targeted are disadvantaged residents of the American Street Empowerment Zone and the North American Street Champion Community. The Pilot training program will consist of a 12-week environmental technician training curriculum that will include courses in the use of innovative assessment, cleanup, and mapping technologies. The training efforts of Impact Services Corporation will be supported by organizations such as the Philadelphia Commerce Department, Philadelphia Private Industry Council, and New Kensington Community Development Corporation. Activities Activities planned as part of this Pilot include: United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20450 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 500-F-98-240 Aug 98 ------- • Developing a curriculum for brownfields assessment and cleanup; • Conducting environmental technician training, including courses in the use of innovative assessment, cleanup, and mapping technologies; • Conducting outreach to recruit unemployed and disadvantaged residents of the American Street Empowerment Zone and the North American Street Champion Community. The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. 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. and United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20450 and Emergency Response (5105T) Solid Waste EPA 500-F-98-240 Aug 98 ------- |