Brownfields 2004 Grant Fact Sheet

Selawik, AK

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

$40,000
EPA has selected the City of Selawik for a job training grant. Selawik plans to train at least eight local residents, achieve a 100% placement rate, and track students for at least eighteen months. The training program will consist of 40 hours of HAZWOPER certification training plus guidance on job opportunities and assistance with job applications. Students will be recruited from the City of Selawik and the Native Village of Selawik, which is co-located with the city and serves the same population. A number of local projects planned for the next few years will provide job opportunities for individuals trained under this grant.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

The City of Selawik was selected to receive a job training grant. Selawik is an Inuit community (population 778) where almost 71% of the population is seasonally unemployed. Approximately 34% of the population lives in poverty. The community relies on seasonal subsistence hunting and fishing, which have been severely impacted by local brownfields. In addition, the health and liability risks presented by brownfields are preventing the development of a sustainable ecotourism industry. The city has a number of cleanup and construction projects slated over the next several years that will require people with environmental training. The city is scheduled to hire waste and emergency response employees to manage its hazardous waste program. Since Selawik can only be accessed by plane, it would be much more cost-effective to hire from the local 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 at: www.epa.gov/brownfields.

EPA Region 10 Brownfields Team
206-553-2100
www.epa.gov/r10earth, click on "Superfund", scroll down and click on "Brownfields"

Grant Recipient: City of Selawik, AK
907-484-2006

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

For further information, including specific grant contacts, additional grant information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site.