Brownfields 2008 Grant Fact Sheet

JFYNetWorks, Boston, MA

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 JFYNetWorks for a job training grant. JFYNetWorks plans to train up to 40 students, place 26 graduates in environmental jobs, and track graduates for up to two years. The training program will consist of four 14-week, 216-hour training cycles. Courses will include HAZWOPER, mold remediation, asbestos abatement, field sampling, and emergency response. Primary trainers will be JFYNetWorks, the New England Consortium, Clean Harbors, and the Institute for Environmental Education. Students will be recruited from brownfields-impacted communities in Boston, Brockton, Chelsea, and Somerville. To place graduates in environmental jobs, JFYNetWorks plans to work with environmental employers such as Clean Harbors, Resource Options, Inc., Aerotek E&E, and the Environmental Business Council of New England.

COMMUNITY DESCRIPTION

JFYNetWorks was selected to receive a job training grant. Located in Boston, JFYNetWorks is the city's largest non-profit workforce and career development training center. This grant targets underemployed and unemployed residents of Boston's Empowerment Zone and the nearby communities of Brockton, Chelsea, and Somerville (combined population 761,147). Long recognized as the economic hub of New England, Boston has a rich industrial history. As industries have moved out of the city, parts of Boston have been left with abandoned and vacant properties. Poverty rates in the four target communities range from 12.5 percent in Somerville to over 23 percent in Chelsea. In Boston and Chelsea, at least 42 percent of residents are minorities. Boston's Dudley Street Neighborhood contains nine percent of the state's contaminated sites and has a 30 percent unemployment rate. According to the state, the environmental technology sector is experiencing growth that is expected to be maintained through 2010. Local employers indicate that the market for environmental technicians is strong and that demand for them will continue.

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.

Marcus Holmes, EPA Region 1
617-918-1630
EPA Region 1 Brownfields web site

Grant Recipient: JFYNetWorks, MA
617-338-0815, ext. 229

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