Brownfields Environmental Job 

Training Programs Lead to New 

Lives for Graduates
 

Brooklyn, New York EPA’s Brownfields Program is well known for funding 

assessments on properties with uncertain levels of contamination, 

and providing the guidance and oversight needed to return those sites 

to productive use. With more than 1,100 Brownfi elds Assessment 

grants in place that have leveraged billions of dollars for cleanup and 

redevelopment, it is sometimes possible to overlook a smaller aspect 

of EPA’s Brownfields Program: its Job Training Grants. In nearly 90 

communities across the country, Job Training projects funded by EPA 

grants are preparing real people for life-changing careers. One such 

program, in Brooklyn, New York, partnered with an established nonprofit, job training organization to transform lives as dramatically as 

EPA’s Brownfields Assessment grants transform properties. 

In the case of the Brooklyn Job Training Pilot, EPA provided funding 

to support a collaboration between STRIVE—a national, non-profit, 

job training and placement organization—and the Williamsburg 

Works program of the St. Nicholas Neighborhood Preservation 

Corporation (SNNPC), a Brooklyn-based workforce development 

program founded by community members and representatives from 

local businesses. The result was a training program tailored to meet 

the needs of local residents as well as their likely future employers. 

According to Michael Rochford of the SNNPC, “We reached out 

to [local] employers, we formed an informal employer’s council, 

they gave us advice on what the curriculum should consist of, we 

developed a program model to work here in Brooklyn, and we began 

the EPA Pilot.” 

The resulting program goes beyond simply training participants and 

releasing them into the job market. Candidates for the program are 

carefully screened to ensure their commitment to completing the 

training, as many classes start early in the day and are physically 

demanding. SNNPC provides “life-skills” training that prepares 

graduates for the expectations of their future employers. EPA Region 

2 staff—from scientists to administrative support—provide students 

with guidance on environmental careers. And to promote job retention, 

support is provided to the program’s trainees for two years following 

graduation. The EPA-funded training includes courses in innovative 

environmental remediation technologies, chemistry, math, site 

investigation and monitoring, hazardous waste handling, and the 40 

continued 

Students in the Williamsburg Works program 

during HAZMAT training. 

JUST THE FACTS:
 • In Brooklyn, NY, EPA provided 

funding to support a collaboration 

between a national, non-profit, 

job training and placement 

organization and a local workforce 

development program.

 • The resulting environmental job 

training program offers courses in 

innovative environmental remediation 

technologies, chemistry, math, 

site investigation and monitoring, 

hazardous waste handling, and the 

40 hour OSHA-required training for 

hazardous waste workers. 

• Since the Williamsburg Works 

environmental job training program 

was established in Brooklyn in 2002, 

it has graduated 520 environmental 

trainees who now earn an average 

hourly wage of $16.43. 

“The EPA training was very 

intense and very gratifying... 

before I went I was very timid; 

[the Job Training program] helped me 

get out of that. And that really gave me a 

sense of self-worth that my family sees 

every morning when I get up 

and come to work.” 

—Karim Moreno,
 

Graduate of the Williamsburg Works/
 

EPA Job Training program
 
 

 

 

 

hour OSHA-required training for hazardous waste workers. As put by Michael Rochford, “Most of our 

students will have some work experience, but may not have the technical skills to qualify for a highwage job. It’s very rewarding to take someone that may have been just getting by on a minimum-wage 

job and place them on a track that gets them into a job that has real, high-wage possibilities.” 

One of those students was Karim Moreno, who graduated from the 

program’s second training cycle. Karim had originally contacted 

the SNNPC looking for career advice, and was encouraged to apply 

for the Williamsburg Works/EPA Job Training program. “The EPA 

training was very intense and very gratifying,” explains Karim. 

“Before I went I was very timid; they helped me get out of that. 

And that really gave me a sense of self-worth that my family sees 

every morning when I get up and come to work.” 

Within a week of graduation Karim had secured a job at Clean 

Students in the EPA-funded, environmental job Harbors Environmental Services, Inc., one of the country’s largest 

training program at Williamsburg Works. environmental/hazardous waste management companies, which 

has hired a number of the program’s graduates. Tom Columbia, Program Manager at Clean Harbors’ 

Brooklyn Office, remarked, “...they have been very successful; they’ve been good employees, and 

when we need to hire more again, Williamsburg Works and their program are going to be the first 

people we turn to. The fact that the EPA is involved is great, the fact that they take local people and 

give them the tools to succeed in this business is, I think, a great program.” 

Two years after graduation, Karim was still with Clean Harbors, and 

was eyeing a foreman position. “I encourage any friend, any person 

interested in the environmental field [to apply for the training], CONTACTS: because the sky’s the limit,” says Karim. 

For more information contact 

Karim represents just one example of the more than 4,600 EPA’s Office of Brownfields and Land 

graduates of EPA-funded Brownfields Environmental Job Revitalization: (202) 566-2777 

Training programs across the nation. Since the Williamsburg Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at: 

Works job training program was established in Brooklyn in 2002, www.epa.gov/brownfi elds/ 

it has graduated 520 environmental trainees who now earn an 

average hourly wage of $16.43. As a result of this success, EPA 

awarded additional funding to ensure the program’s continued 

development. Williamsburg Works has since relocated to a new, stateof-the-art training facility; now enrolls approximately 150 trainees per 

year, and offers 9 different certifications and licenses related to environmental 

remediation. 

Brownfields Success Story Solid Waste EPA-560-F-09-019 

Brooklyn, New York and Emergency February 2009 

Job Training Program Response (5105T) www.epa.gov/brownfields/