Brownfields 2011 Job Training Grant Fact Sheet
™ Florida State College at Jacksonville
EPA Brownfields Program
In 2010, the Office of Brownfields and Land
Revitalization (OBLR) led an effort to more closely
collaborate on workforce development and job training
with other programs within EPA's Office of Solid
Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER), including
the Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery
(ORCR), Office of Superfund Remediation and
Technology Innovation (OSRTI), Office of
Underground Storage Tanks (OUST), Federal Facilities
Restoration and Reuse Office (FFRRO), Center for
Program Analysis (CPA), Innovation, Partnerships, and
Communication Office (IPCO), and the Office of
Emergency Management (OEM) to develop a job
training cooperative agreement opportunity that
includes expanded training in other environmental
media outside the traditional scope of just brownfields.
As a result of these discussions, the "Environmental
Workforce Development and Job Training Grants
Program," formerly known as the "Brownfields Job
Training Grants Program," was formed and now
provides grantees the ability to deliver additional
hazardous and solid waste training. By expanding the
program, communities are provided the flexibility to
deliver new types of environmental training based on
local labor market demands.
Environmental Workforce Development and Job
Training grant funds are provided to nonprofit
organizations and other eligible entities to recruit, train,
and place predominantly low-income and minority,
unemployed and under-employed residents from solid
and hazardous waste-impacted communities. Residents
learn the skills needed to secure full-time, sustainable
employment in the environmental field, including a
focus on assessment and cleanup activities. These
grants help to create green jobs that reduce
environmental contamination and promote
sustainability in communities throughout the nation.
EPA awarded its first Brownfields Job Training Grants
in 1998. To date, more than 5,000 people have obtained
environmental employment in the environmental field
with an average starting hourly wage of $14.65.
Community Description
Job Training Grant
$299,996
EPA has selected Florida State College at
Jacksonville for an environmental workforce
development and job training grant. Florida State
College plans to train 80 students, place 60
graduates in environmental jobs, and track graduates
for one year. The training program will consist of
five eight-week cycles with daytime instruction and
five 11-week cycles with evening instruction that
will total 326 training hours. Training will include
40-hour HAZWOPER; lead renovation, repair, and
painting; innovative and alternative treatment
technologies; and underground storage tank leak
prevention awareness. Primary trainers will be from
the college's experienced staff. Students will be
recruited from veterans, unemployed adults,
low-income and minority residents, and other
populations of need. The college will partner with
environmental firms and employers to place
graduates in environmental jobs. The City of
Jacksonville also will encourage its contractors at
Superfund and brownfield sites to hire program
graduates.
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
(http://www.epa.gov/brownfields).
EPA Region 4 Brownfields Team
(404) 562-8792
EPA Region 4 Brownfields Web site
(http: //www. epa.gov/region4/waste/bf)
Grant Recipient: Florida State College at Jacksonville
(904)632-3191
The information presented in this fact sheet comes
from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the
accuracy of this information. The cooperative
agreement for the grant has not yet been negotiated.
Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 560-F-11-048
Jul 11
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Located in northeastern tlorida, tlonda State College I subject to change
will target its job training activities in the City of
Jacksonville (population 857,050). The city's median
household income is significantly lower than the U.S.
average, and poverty rates in some neighborhoods are
as high as 31 percent. At least 39 percent of residents
are minorities. In 2010, the city had one of the highest
foreclosure rates in the country. It is a federal
Empowerment Zone and designated Environmental
Justice Showcase Community whose residents are
disproportionately affected by environmental
contamination. For 80 years, Jacksonville operated
several municipal solid waste incinerators that
generated ash residue laced with hazardous materials
that was disposed of directly in residential
neighborhoods. Lead is a major contaminant at these
ash sites. The city also is home to 125 Superfund
removal and remedial sites, 1,500 potential
brownfields, and two major military bases. The
project's labor market assessment team found that
Jacksonville continues to attract new major
environmental employers, such as solar thermal
manufacturers, while also experiencing the growth of
existing environmental companies. These trends
indicate continuing demand for workers with the skills
of program graduates.
United States __,.
EPA
Protection Agency ResDonse(51oVn JuM1
Washington, DC 20450 Kesponse (bl Ob I )
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