Brownfields 2005 Grant Fact Sheet

Concurrent Technologies Corporation, NC

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 brownfields job training grants provide residents of communities impacted by brownfields with the skills and training needed to effectively gain employment in assessment and cleanup activities associated with brownfield redevelopment and environmental remediation. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.

JOB TRAINING GRANT

$200,000

EPA has selected Concurrent Technologies Corporation (CTC) for a job training grant. CTC plans to train 75 students, place 60 graduates in environmental jobs, and track students for one year. The 240-hour training program includes HAZWOPER, OSHA Class I/asbestos emergency response, asbestos abatement, and innovative and alternative treatment technologies instruction. Other courses include lead worker, mold remediation, OSHA general industry standards, heavy equipment operation and safety, and hazardous materials handling and shipping. Students will be recruited from the Lumbee Tribe and residents of Robeson, Scotland, and Cumberland Counties, North Carolina. Graduates will be placed in environmental jobs through CTC contacts and the Center for Indian Health and Environmental Technologies, the non-profit affiliate of Porter Scientific, Inc.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

Concurrent Technologies Corporation was selected to receive a job training grant. The proposal targets three counties in Southeastern North Carolina, and Robeson County (population 123,339) in particular. Robeson County, which is a federally designated Enterprise Community, ranks 99 out of 100 counties in North Carolina in its ability to create jobs, maintain a local employed labor force, and attract income from other regions. Approximately 23 percent of Robeson County residents live in poverty. In the year 2000, the county's unemployment rate was 3.5 percentage points greater than the rates in surrounding counties. Robeson County is racially diverse, with American Indians comprising nearly 40 percent of the population. In addition to county residents, this program also targets the Lumbee Tribe, which extends into the neighboring counties of Scotland and Cumberland. A survey of potential public and private sector employers throughout the region indicated that 50 percent are willing to hire program graduates as environmental technicians.

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 4 Brownfields Team
404-562-8660
http://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/bf/index.htm

Grant Recipient: Concurrent Technologies Corporation, NC
803-748-7662

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