^lDir'% * ^fl^b • \W7 2 Brownfields 2011 Job Training Grant Fact Sheet %\^ ^^c of Greater New Orleans, LA 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 $300,000 EPA has selected Arc of Greater New Orleans for an environmental workforce development and job training grant. Arc of Greater New Orleans plans to train 43 students, place 35 graduates in environmental jobs, and track graduates for one year. The core training program will consist of 410 hours, with three additional tracks of 110 to 112 hours for solid waste management, energy efficiency technologies for remediated sites, and renewable energy preparation and installation for remediated sites. Core courses will include 40-hour HAZWOPER; underground storage tank leak prevention awareness; deconstruction, construction, and demolition waste recycling awareness; and renewable energy technologies awareness. Primary trainers will be from CORE USA, Barnes Ferland and Associates, and Joule Energy. Students will be recruited from low-income residents, residents displaced from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, ex-offenders, veterans, and individuals with disabilities. Arc of Greater New Orleans will work with trade unions, energy companies, demolition and weatherization organizations, and other local employers to place graduates in environmental jobs. 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 6 Brownfields Team (214) 665-6780 EPA Region 6 Brownfields Web site (http://www.epa.gov/region6/brownfields) Grant Recipient: Arc of Greater New Orleans,LA 5048375105 The information presented in this fact sheet comes from the grant proposal; EPA cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. The cooperative United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20450 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 560-F-11-053 Jul 11 ------- Arc ot Lrreater JNew Urleans will target its job training activities in Orleans, Jefferson, and St. Bernard Parishes (combined population 812,278), where from 13 to 23 percent of residents live below the poverty level. In Orleans Parish, 70 percent of residents are minorities. Foreclosure rates in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes have increased more than 60 percent since January 2010. The economic effects of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill are still being evaluated in all three parishes. These parishes have a higher number of brownfields and Superfund sites than the rest of the state, particularly in low-income, minority neighborhoods. Contaminated sites include petrochemical refineries along the Mississippi River. Labor market assessments indicate there will be a great need for residential, commercial, and industrial energy efficiency workers in the near future. Surveys of employers also found that several industries will need workers with the skills of program graduates, including recycling, demolition, green development, and construction training. There is demand in all three parishes for a skilled labor force of environmental technicians. agreement for the grant has not yet been negotiated. Therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, DC 20450 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5105T) EPA 560-F-11-053 Jul 11 ------- |