Thirteen communities in 12 states will share $2.6 million in job training grants geared toward cleaning up contaminated properties and turning them into productive community assets, according to an EPA release Thursday.

The agency's Brownfields Program is awarding grants of $200,000 each to non-profit organizations, workforce investment boards, and state and local governments. The grants will teach environmental assessment and cleanup job skills to individuals living in areas near brownfields sites in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

"EPA's Brownfields Program is helping revitalize and restore neighborhoods nationwide," said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. "These grants will help community members convert contaminated land into sources of public pride."

The program is designed to ensure that the economic benefits derived from brownfields redevelopment remain in the affected communities. In 2002, the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act was passed to help states and communities around the country clean up and revitalize brownfields sites.

Links

• Information on January 2009 grant recipients
• Information on brownfields job training grants