EPA Gives More Brownfield Funding

The Environmental Protection Agency is pouring more than $2 million into job training for brownfield clean ups. The Brownfields Job Training Program will train people to redevelop the brownfield properties, which include various polluted areas such as abandoned industrial sites, abandoned gas stations, or old textile mills.

These training programs will be focusing on areas where new jobs are most needed. They also focus on communities where environmental cleanups are essential. Some of the communities include sites in California, New York, Washington, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania.

EPA Administrator, Lisa Jackson, said, “By recruiting, training and employing local residents to clean up the community, we get the best of both worlds: new jobs and a cleaner community.”

Jackson believes that “Transforming abandoned and contaminated sites sets the stage for bustling business centers, new parks and other developments. It shows that the right thing to do for the environment is the right thing to do for the economy.”

For more information about EPA’s Brownfields Program: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/