/ O \ Brownfields 1999 Job Training Pilot Fact Sheet
1 J Hennepin County, MN
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 Hennepin County for a Brownfields
Job Training and Development Demonstration Pilot. The
county is also the recipient of a Brownfields Assessment
Pilot. Hennepin County will focus on neighborhoods
within and around downtown Minneapolis, which
encompasses a state-designated Enterprise Zone and
federally designated Enterprise Community (population
49,000). Formerly a preferred location for heavy
industry, the urban core of Minneapolis has declined
because of the movement of industry to the suburbs.
More than half of the residents are African- American,
Native American, Asian/Pacific Islander, or Hispanic.
Minneapolis has one of the highest concentrations of
poverty of any metropolitan area in the country.
Unemployment among African Americans is 28 percent.
The downtown area contains half of Minneapolis'
hazardous waste generators, and numerous brownfields
are located within low-income residential areas. The City
of Minneapolis has targeted brownfields sites within the
downtown area for assessment, cleanup, and
redevelopment. Environmental firms in the city have
reported difficulty in finding skilled labor within the
urban core. The need for liveable-wage jobs for
downtown residents and the need for skilled labor to
assist in downtown redevelopment projects indicate a
Pilot Snapshot
Date of Announcement: 05/01/1999
Amount: $199,752
Profile: The Pilot will train 100 participants as
environmental technicians. Students will be recruited
from underemployed residents and single working
mothers in downtown Minneapolis, which has lost
many industries to the suburbs and includes a state
Enterprise Zone and federal Enterprise 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 5 Brownfields Team
(312)886-7576
EPA Region 5 Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields)
Grant Recipient: Hennepin County,MN
(612)348-3932
Objectives
Hennepin County plans to train 100 disadvantaged
students, achieve a 75 percent placement rate, and track
graduates for one year after completion of the training.
The Pilot will target underemployed residents in
downtown Minneapolis, with special emphasis on
working single mothers. The Pilot training program will
consist of a comprehensive 210-hour environmental
technician training program, including training in the
use of innovative assessment and cleanup technologies.
The training efforts of Hennepin County will be
supported by organizations such as The Green Institute,
Hennepin Technical College, the Minneapolis
Employment and Training Program, the West Metro Job
Partner Network, Peer Environmental & Engineering
Resources, Inc., Belair Excavating, Braun Intertec, and
neighborhood associations. Potential employers have
United States	c
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nil- a	ancl Emergency	..
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	MaV99
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need for this Pilot.
committed to providing apprenticeships to graduates
and participating on an Advisory Committee.
Activities
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
•	Conducting outreach to recruit underemployed
residents of downtown Minneapolis, with an
emphasis on working single mothers;
•	Conducting environmental technician training,
including courses in the use of innovative
assessment and cleanup technologies;
•	Supporting career placement of graduates for
one year after the job training is completed.
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.
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
Solid Waste
EPA 500-F-99-099
May 99

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