Brownfields 2002 Job Training Pilot Fact Sheet

r? I Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC),
Wilmington, Delaware

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 the State of Delaware's Department of
Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC)
for a Brownfields Job Training and Development
Demonstration Pilot. DNREC's ssessment pilot partner is
the City of Wilmington Brownfields Assessment Pilot.
The Job Training Pilot will focus on the Southbridge and
East Wilmington communities of Wilmington
(population 73,000). The two communities (population
8,000) are depressed, inner-city neighborhoods in which
two-thirds of the residents are minorities. Unemployment
in the two communities is significantly higher than the
citywide rate.

The City of Wilmington has a 200-year history of
industrial activity. Through the Brownfields Assessment
Pilot, the city has identified 126 brownfields. A quarter
of the City's lands are brownfields. Assessments
conducted by the Brownfields Assessment Pilot are
expected to generate six to ten specific remediation
projects. The City has a federally designated Enterprise
Community that will provide incentives for
redevelopment of brownfields. Local environmental
contractors have expressed interest in hiring local
residents trained as environmental technicians to
participate in new redevelopment projects.

Pilot Snapshot

Date of Announcement: 12/01/2001
Amount: $200,000

Profile: The Pilot will train 50 students as
environmental technicians. Students will be recruited
from the undereducated and underemployed residents
of the Southbridge and East Wilmington
communities, which have suffered a disproportionate
burden from the 126 brownfields identified in the
City.

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: Delaware Department of Natural
Resources and Environmental Control
(302) 739-4271

Objectives

The Department of Natural Resources and
Environmental Control plans to train 50 students,
achieve an 80% graduation rate, achieve a 75%
placement rate among graduates, and support career
placement of graduates for one year after the training is
completed. Students will be recruited from among
undereducated and underemployed residents of the
Southbridge and East Wilmington communities. The
152-hour Pilot training program will consist of
HAZWOPER, introduction to environmental issues
(including 20 hours on innovative and alternative
remediation technologies), asbestos worker course, lead
abatement worker course, and OSHA construction safety.

The training efforts of DNREC will be supported by

United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450

Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)

EPA 500-F-01-01-355
Dec 01

-------
organizations such as Delaware Technical and
Community College, Delaware Department of Labor,
City of Wilmington, New Millennium Community
Development Corporation, Wilmington Enterprise
Community, and employers in the environmental
consulting field. Delaware Technical and Community
College plans to develop a continuing education
program to further opportunities for program graduates.

Activities

Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

•	Conducting outreach to recruit undereducated
and underemployed residents of the Southbridge
and East Wilmington communities;

•	Conducting training for entry-level positions as
brownfields technicians, including courses in the
use of innovative assessment and cleanup
technologies; and

•	Supporting career placement of students for one
year after the job training is completed.

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-01-01-355
Dec 01

-------