Brownfields 2004 Grant Fact Sheet

Milwaukee Community Service Corps, WI

EPA BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic development 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. The job training grants provide training for residents of communities affected by brownfields to prepare them for employment in the assessment and cleanup of brownfield sites. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.

JOB TRAINING GRANT

$150,000
EPA has selected the Milwaukee Community Service Corps for a job training grant. The MCSC plans to train 64 students and graduate 56, guarantee 100% of the training graduates at least part-time employment, and continue to track students as long as MCSC is in operation. The training program will consist of 280 hours of course work in hazardous waste health and safety training, lead and asbestos abatement training and certification, confined space entry, sampling and monitoring, and innovative technologies. This training will be followed by internships with local environmental employers. Students will be recruited from the Milwaukee Renewal Community. The MCSC's Advisory Council, a cross-section of professionals representing local engineering firms; city, county and state agencies; and neighborhood and community groups, will assist in the placement of trainees in environmental jobs.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The Milwaukee Community Service Corps (MCSC) was selected to receive a job training grant. MCSC will focus this grant on the Milwaukee Renewal Community, a distressed, predominately African-American community with a 21% unemployment rate and where 50% of residents live in poverty. Six major redevelopment project are under way in the city, including the 30th Street Industrial Corridor along the western edge of the Renewal Community, which is heavily impacted by brownfields that are a legacy of the city's manufacturing past. Brownfields assessment, cleanup, and redevelopment in the Milwaukee Renewal Community and other areas around the city generate significant demand for entry-level and advanced environmental workers. The potential for placing graduates of the training program in environmental technician jobs within the city is high.

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.

EPA Region 5 Brownfields Team
312-886-7576
http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/

Grant Recipient: Milwaukee Community Service Corps, WI
414-372-9040

The cooperative agreement for this grant has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.