Brownfields Job Training and Development
Demonstration Pilot Fact Sheet

PILOT SNAPSHOT
Flint, Michigan	Date of Announcement: May 2000 Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot will train 70 participants as environmental technicians. Students will be recruited from underemployed residents of the City of Flint’s federal Enterprise Community, which has suffered from years of disinvestment in manufacturing facilities, including the decommissioning of the 10 million cubic foot “Buick City.”

BACKGROUND

EPA has selected the City of Flint for a Brownfields Job Training and Development Demonstration Pilot. The City is the recipient of a Brownfields Assessment Pilot. The Job Training Pilot will focus on the City of Flint’s federal Enterprise Community, which encompasses ten square miles of the highest concentration of poor families in Genesee County. The City of Flint (population 141,000) is the industrial and commercial center of Genesee County. Over half of the City’s current residents are minorities, and the city-wide poverty rate is over 30 percent. The poverty rate in the federal Enterprise Community is even higher, at 44 percent (statistics based on the 1990 census).

The City of Flint’s population has steadily declined since the 1950s. Its oldest neighborhoods and business districts have suffered from years of disinvestment. The downtown is nearly vacant. In the heart of the city lies the 10 million cubic foot “Buick City.” Tens of thousands of jobs were lost with the decommissioning of this facility. An agreement between General Motors and the City to work together to redevelop this site has spurred redevelopment efforts in the City. Environmental technician training for local residents is needed to fill the growing need for skilled environmental workers.

TRAINING OBJECTIVES

The City of Flint plans to train 70 participants, achieve a 75 percent placement rate, and support career placement of graduates for one year after the training is completed. Participants will be recruited from underemployed residents of the City’s federal Enterprise Community that have been recommended by other service organizations participating in the pilot. The Pilot training program will consist of a core 200 hours of instruction, including HAZWOPER, emergency response, respirator training, lead and asbestos hazard evaluation and abatement, and innovative technologies. Students then have the option of selecting one of two 40-hour tracks in Geographical Information Systems training or Geoprobe and Drilling Rig training.

The City of Flint’s training efforts will be supported by organizations such as the Michigan State Police Hazardous Materials Training Center, Environmental Consulting & Technology, Inc. (ECT), Career Alliance, Community Foundation of Greater Flint, Neighborhood Violence Prevention Collaborative, Spanish Speaking Information Center, and Urban League of Flint. U.S. EPA’s National Risk Management Laboratory in Cincinnati will assist with innovative technology training. General Motors has committed to employing graduates.

ACTIVITIES

Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

• Conducting outreach to recruit underemployed residents of the City of Flint’s federal Enterprise Community;
• Conducting brownfields technician training, including courses in the use of innovative assessment and cleanup technologies; and
• Supporting career placement of students for one year after training is completed.

CONTACTS

City of Flint
(810) 766-7355, ext. 3007

Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 5
(312) 353-0123

Visit the EPA Region 5 Brownfields web site at:

http://www.epa.gov/R5Brownfields/

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

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