Brownfield Job Training Grants Guidelines – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q.  What is the grant application process in Fiscal Year 2004?

A.  The process for applying for a job training grant is a one-step process as discussed in the new guidelines www.epa.gov/brownfields/applicat.htm#jt. The one-step process of applying for the assessment, cleanup, and revolving loan fund programs are discussed in separate guidelines from the job training program http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/applicat.htm#pg. EPA is asking applicants to demonstrate that they meet threshold eligibility requirements and to respond to evaluation criteria that will be used to rank applications.

EPA's job training grant guidelines describe the application process for the job training grants. Proposals must be postmarked no later than December 1, 2003.

Q.  How do I get help in understanding and responding to the FY 2004 grant guidelines?

A.  Applicants should review information on the EPA brownfields website. EPA Regional Brownfields staff will provide pre-application assistance to individual applicants regarding threshold eligibility requirements only. Regional staff will not provide assistance to help applicants prepare their responses to evaluation criteria. Agency personnel will not review draft proposals. Electronic questions may be submitted to EPA's Office of Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment at bf.comments@epa.gov. Parties wishing to submit their questions via the United States Postal Service should address their questions to: Ms. LaKisha Odom, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment, MC-5105T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20460.

Q.  Who is eligible to apply for the grants?

A.  The Brownfields law defines entities eligible to receive grants. These include eligible governmental entities include a general purpose local unit of government; a land clearance authority or other quasi-governmental entity that operates under the supervision and control of, or as an agent of, a general purpose unit of government; a governmental entity created by a state legislature; a regional council or group of general purpose unit of local government; a redevelopment agency that is chartered or otherwise sanctioned by a state; a state; an Indian Tribe (other than in Alaska), or an Alaskan Native Regional Corporation and an Alaska Native Village Corporation as those terms are defined in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 and following), and the Metlakatla Indian Community. EPA welcomes and encourages proposals from coalitions of such entities, but a single eligible entity must be identified as the legal recipient. Intertribal consortia, except consortia comprised of ineligible Alaska tribes, are eligible to apply as well.

The Brownfields law also makes nonprofit organizations eligible for Brownfields job training grants. EPA has decided to use the definition of a nonprofit organization found in 31 U.S.C. §6101, Note. Eligible nonprofit organizations include any corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or other organization that is operated primarily for scientific, educational, service, charitable, or similar purpose in the public interest; the organization must not be organized primarily for profit and must use net proceeds to maintain, improve, or expand the operation of the organization. Public and nonprofit private educational institutions are eligible to apply. For-profit or proprietary training organizations or trade schools are not eligible to apply. Applicants must provide evidence of current nonprofit status under Federal, state or tribal law in their job training grant proposals.

Q.  How is my application evaluated?

A.  Evaluation panels comprised of EPA employees and representatives of other Federal agencies will assess how well the proposals meet the evaluation criteria. There are two different types of criteria—threshold criteria and ranking criteria. Threshold and ranking criteria are clearly indicated in the guidelines. If a response to a threshold criterion fails, the proposal will be disqualified from further consideration. However, EPA Regions may seek clarification from an applicant regarding its responses to threshold criteria. EPA will not seek clarification of responses to ranking criteria.

The evaluation panels will determine which proposals have the greatest potential to effectively use the limited funds EPA has available for awards. Scores on each ranking criterion will be totaled to determine initial proposal rankings. EPA senior management will determine the final ranking of proposals taking into consideration the recommendations of the review panel and other policy considerations, such as geographic distribution, fair distribution of funding between urban and non-urban areas, and non-duplication of other federal job training programs.

Q.  How much money is available through individual grants?

A.  Under the new Brownfields law, an eligible entity may apply for up to $200,000 per job training grant. However, EPA reserves the right to fund successful proposals at lower amounts depending on the availability of EPA funds, applicant access to other sources of funds, quality of applicant proposals, and needs of the community.

The project period for the job training grants is up to two years. Contact your EPA Regional Brownfields Coordinator for additional information (LINK). However, actual funding is dependent upon the availability of funds through the Federal budget process.

Q.  What is a Brownfields?

A.  For the purposes of EPA's Brownfields grant program, A "Brownfields 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."

Q.  How does an applicant ensure "non-duplication of effort"?

A.  Applicants must demonstrate that the proposed training project does not duplicate other federally funded hazardous waste management training programs in their target community. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences maintains a list of their worker training grantees on their web site, http://www.niehs.nih.gov/wetp.

Q.  How does an applicant ensure that all uses of EPA funds are eligible?

A.  Applicants must carefully review the proposal guidelines to ensure that the activities included in their proposal are consistent with the guidelines.

• Grant funds may be used to train residents for the handling and removal of hazardous substances, which includes training for jobs in sampling, analysis, and site remediation.
• Funds also may be used for the following: 1) training in the management of facilities at which hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, or petroleum contamination are located; 2) training for response activities often associated with cleanups-for example, landscaping, demolition, and groundwater extraction; and 3) development/refinement of existing curriculum for the training described in this paragraph.
• Grant funds may be used for training participants in the use of techniques and methods for cleanup of leaking underground storage tanks and other sites contaminated by petroleum products, asbestos abatement, or lead abatement where these topics are a component of a more comprehensive hazardous waste and substance management training course or environmental technology training course.
• Grant funds may be used for outreach activities directed toward improving participation in hazardous waste and substance management training for communities impacted by brownfields. Proposed training programs must establish procedures to ensure that participants are recruited from the neighborhoods where the brownfield site(s) are located and graduates from their training programs are employed in assessing and cleaning up environmentally contaminated sites.

Q.  What can EPA Brownfields Job Training funds NOT be used for?

A.  Applicants must carefully review the proposal guidelines to ensure that the activities included in their proposal are consistent with the guidelines.

• Grant funds may not be used for conducting site assessments or actual cleanups except under temporary "on-the-job" training assignments. Grant funds may not be used for conducting response activities often associated with cleanups-for example, landscaping, demolition, and groundwater extraction except under temporary on-the-job training assignments. Assessment, cleanup, and associated activity costs should be funded through other means.

• Grant funds may not be used for general or life skills education activities, job readiness training, job placement costs, general education diploma costs, transportation costs or stipends for students, web site development, vehicle or medical insurance, or child care costs.

• Grant funds may not be used for costs that are unallowable (e.g., lobbying, fund-raising) under OMB Circulars A-21 (universities), A-87 (state, tribal, and local governments), or A-122 (nonprofit organizations), as applicable.

• Grant funds may not be used to match any other federal funds unless there is specific statutory authority for the match. CERCLA does not provide this authority. However, grant funds may be used to match state or local funds if authorized by the relevant state statute or local ordinance.

• Under the new Brownfields Law, grant funds may not be used for administrative costs. See Appendix 2 of the FY 2004 Brownfields Job Training Guidelines for details on this important prohibition.

Q.  Why are binders and color printing discouraged?

A.  Each application is photocopied and distributed to members of the national review panel. Graphics, binders, colorful charts, etc. do not photocopy well and may distort information in your proposal.

Q.  What are the important deadlines?

A.      September 2003         Federal Register Notice published
         December 1, 2003      Proposals due to EPA
         February 2004            Announcement of Grants

Q.  Where can I find information on Environmental Job Training Programs?

A.  One source of information concerning environmental training is the Hazardous Materials and Research Training Institute website www.hmtri.org EPA has provided grant funding to this organization to conduct national workshops focused on establishment of environmental training and job development programs and to provide technical assistance to members of the brownfields community. Please note that there may be other sources of information available as well. EPA urges you to check a variety of sources of information when preparing your proposal

Q.  Must trainees be unemployed or underemployed to be eligible for the training offered under a job training grant?

A.  The EPA Brownfields Job Training Grants do not make a distinction as to whether a trainee is unemployed or under-employed to be eligible for training.