Brownfields Workshops

Brownfields Definition         What is the Brownfields Redevelopment Initiative?

Strategies for Job Development and Training in Brownfields Communities Workshop

Date

August 5–6, 2008

Location

Isle of Capri Hotel and Conference Center

Bettendorf, Iowa

The Hazardous Materials Training and Research Institute (HMTRI) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would like to invite you to participate in a workshop that will show you how to develop an environmental job training program in your community. These workshops are designed to provide knowledge and tools necessary to undertake activities that will maximize job development and employment opportunities for residents living in Brownfields-impacted areas. There is no registration fee to attend. In addition, lodging costs for two nights will be paid for participants attending from out of town.

Goals / Objectives / Agenda Topics

• Building workforce development partnerships
• Building and maintaining Brownfields job training programs
  • Assessing the local labor market
  • Developing effective training, curricula, and resources
  • Implementing student recruitment, assessment, and placement procedures
  • Assessing job readiness skills
  • Ensuring program sustainability
  • Seeking additional financial resources
  • Implementing program evaluation
• Maintaining relationships with other job training programs
  • Maintaining contact with EPA regional job training coordinators
  • Networking with other job training program representatives

Details and Questions

Please see the invitation and registration form for more information. For questions, contact Glo Hanne.

Brownfields Definition

Many areas across the country that were once used for industrial and commercial purposes have been abandoned—some are contaminated. Because lenders, investors, and developers fear that involvement with these sites may make them liable for cleaning up contamination they did not create, they are more attracted to developing sites in pristine areas, called "greenfields." The result can be blighted areas rife with abandoned industrial facilities that create safety and health risks for residents, drive up unemployment, and foster a sense of hopelessness. These areas are called "brownfields."

Brownfields are defined as 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.

What is the Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative?

The EPA's Brownfields Initiative provides financial and technical assistance for brownfields revitalization, including grants for environmental assessment, cleanup, and job training. According to an EPA report, Reusing Land and Restoring Hope , the EPA began the Brownfields program in 1995 to "change the way people think about contaminated properties," and to begin to reuse these lands for economic redevelopment. The brownfields revitalization effort is based on four main goals:

• Protecting the environment
• Promoting partnerships
• Strengthening the marketplace
• Sustaining reuse

For a guide to implementing brownfields projects, please visit the Brownfields Toolbox Web site.