Brownfields Job Training and Development
Demonstration Pilot Fact Sheet

PILOT SNAPSHOT
St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois	Date of Announcement: May 2000 Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot will train 50 participants as environmental technicians. Students will be recruited from low-income, Welfare-to-Work, and unemployed residents of the federal St. Louis/East St. Louis/Wellston Empowerment Zone, which is comprised of severely depressed neighborhoods suffering from years of disinvestment in the area’s commercial and industrial facilities.

BACKGROUND

EPA has selected St. Louis Community College for a Brownfields Job Training and Development Demonstration Pilot. St. Louis Community College’s assessment pilot partners are the City of St. Louis, Missouri, and the City of East St. Louis, Illinois. The Job Training Pilot will focus on neighborhoods in the St. Louis/East St. Louis/Wellston federal Empowerment Zone. Residents of the Empowerment Zone are primarily African American, although there has been a dramatic increase in the number of immigrants from Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. Residents suffer from a 47 percent poverty rate, and 62 percent of the area’s children live in poverty. Only half of the students in the area complete high school, and the unemployment rate is correspondingly high at 24 percent. The St. Louis area has undergone an epidemic of lead poisoning, and asbestos is a major health threat in the community.

The economy of the St. Louis area has changed dramatically over the past 50 years. Many warehouses, factories, and other commercial buildings are vacant, and many brownfield sites are contaminated by various hazardous materials. The St. Louis and East St. Louis Brownfields Assessment Pilots are helping to stimulate redevelopment efforts in the Empowerment Zone. The severely depressed economic conditions and number of brownfields sites in the area indicate a strong need for an environmental training program. Properly trained environmental technicians are in high demand by St. Louis employers.

TRAINING OBJECTIVES

St. Louis Community College plans to train 50 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 low-income, Welfare-to-Work, and unemployed residents of the federal Empowerment Zone. The Pilot training program will consist of 190 hours of classes over a six-week period, including courses on environmental technologies, HAZWOPER, lead and asbestos abatement, OSHA 30-hour general construction, and ecosystem restoration, including training in the use of innovative assessment and cleanup technologies. OSHA-approved instructors will conduct the training for general construction.

St. Louis Community College’s training efforts will be supported by organizations such as Work Link, St. Louis University Center for Education and Training, St. Louis Development Corporation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis Regional Jobs Initiative, St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association, Workforce Partners of Metro St. Louis, New Spirit Neighborhood Organizing Office, and St. Louis Urban Male Resource Center. St. Louis Community College will offer graduates continuing education opportunities. A bi-state Workforce Development Advisory Group will assist the program meet employer needs.

ACTIVITIES

Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

• Conducting outreach to recruit low-income, Welfare-to-Work, and unemployed residents of the federal Empowerment Zone;
• 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 the job training is completed.

CONTACTS

St. Louis Community College
(314) 381-1848

Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 7
(913) 551-7964

Visit the EPA Region 7 Brownfields web site at:

http://www.epa.gov/region7/cleanup/brownfields/index.htm

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.