Brownfields Job Training and Development
Demonstration Pilot Fact Sheet

PILOT SNAPSHOT
Cincinnati, Ohio	Date of Announcement: December 2001 Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot will train 75 students as environmental technicians. Students will be recruited from unemployed and underemployed residents in areas affected by brownfields, which plague the low-income, ethnic minority, and dis-advantaged communities in Hamilton County urban cores.

BACKGROUND

EPA has selected the City of Cincinnati for a Brownfields Job Training and Development Demonstration Pilot. The City of Cincinnati, which also is a recipient of a Brownfields Assessment Pilot, is partnering with the Village of Lockland Brownfields Assessment Pilot. Undeveloped brownfields plague the low-income, ethnic minority, and disadvantaged communities in the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. Most brownfields are located in urban cores, where unemployment and minority populations are high.

Redevelopment activities are being generated through the activities of two Brownfields Assessment Pilots, a state Enterprise Zone, and the federal Empowerment Zone. While the redevelopment of brownfields is retaining businesses and encouraging public/private partnerships, there is a major gap in the participation of community residents in jobs created through the redevelopment process. The City's Office of Environmental Management has found that there is a lack of community residents with adequate skills to participate in brownfields assessment and remediation projects.

TRAINING OBJECTIVES

The City of Cincinnati plans to train 75 students, achieve an 80% placement rate, and support career placement of graduates for one year after the training is completed. Students will be recruited from unemployed and underemployed residents in areas affected by brownfields. The 224-hour Pilot training program will consist of training in the areas of OSHA safety, emergency response, remediation technologies, lead abatement, incident command, OSHA confined space, and technology demonstrations, including training in the use of innovative assessment and cleanup technologies.

The training efforts of the City of Cincinnati will be supported by organizations such as Greater Cincinnati Occupational Health Training Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, Cincinnati Institute for Career Alternatives, Mill Creek Restoration Project, Northside Community School, Better Housing League of Greater Cincinnati, Cincinnati Office of Environmental Management, and Cincinnati Job Corps. Ten apprenticeships will be made available through the Cincinnati Job Corps, and on-the-job training will be offered by local environmental employers.

ACTIVITIES

Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:

• Conducting outreach to recruit unemployed and underemployed residents in areas affected by brownfields;
• Conducting training for entry-level positions as brownfields technicians, 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

City of Cincinnati Career
Resource Center
(513) 458-6147

Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 5
(312) 886-4747

Visit the EPA Region 5 Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/Region5/

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.