Brownfields 2013  Job Training  Grant Fact  Sheet
              Merrimack Valley Workforce Investment Board, Lawrence, MA
EPA Environmental Workforce
Development and Job Training Grant
Program

In 2010, the Office of Brownfields and Land
Revitalization (OBLR) led an effort to more closely
collaborate with other programs within EPA on workforce
development and job training. Program offices now
participating  in the expanded initiative include 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), Office
of Wastewater Management (OWM), Office of Chemical
Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), and the Office
of Emergency Management (OEM). This initiative was
created to develop a job training cooperative agreement
opportunity that includes expanded training in other
environmental media outside the traditional scope of
brownfields hazardous waste remediation. As a result of
this effort, the Environmental Workforce Development
and Job Training Grants Program now allows applicants
to deliver other training in the environmental field, in
addition to the core traditional brownfields hazardous
waste and petroleum training historically provided.

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
underemployed 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. Since 1998, EPA has funded 206 job
training grants totaling over $45 million through the
Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training
Grants Program. As of March 2013, approximately 11,473
individuals have completed training, of which
approximately 8,198 have obtained employment in the
environmental field with an average starting hourly wage
of $14.12. This equates to a cumulative placement rate of
approximately 71% since the program was created.
                    Job Training Grant

                    $200,000

                    EPA selected the Merrimack Valley Workforce
                    Investment Board (MVWIB) for an
                    Environmental Workforce Development and Job
                    Training grant. MVWIB plans to train 45 students,
                    place 31 graduates in environmental jobs, and
                    track graduates for one year. The core training
                    program includes 174 hours of instruction,
                    including coursework in 40-hour HAZWOPER;
                    introduction to careers in recycling and leaking
                    underground storage tank corrective action (e.g.,
                    site assessment and remediation) awareness,
                    including procedures for tank removal when
                    necessary to perform corrective action;
                    construction site stormwater management;
                    recycling, reuse, remanufacturing industry;
                    confined space entry; Occupational Safety and
                    Health Administration 10-hour construction
                    safety; fall protection; and lead and asbestos
                    abatement. A total of six state and federal
                    certifications will be offered. For this job training
                    program, MVWIB is targeting unemployed and
                    underemployed minority residents of the City of
                    Lawrence. Key partners include Groundwork
                    Lawrence, the City of Lawrence's Community
                    Development Department, and the Merrimack
                    Valley Planning Commission.

                    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 1 Brownfields Team
                    617-918-1429
                    EPA Region 1 Brownfields Web site
                    (http://www.epa.gov/region01/br ownfields/)

                    Grant Recipient: Merrimack Valley Workforce
                    Investment Board,MA
                    978-683-7099
  United States
  Environmental
  Protection Agency
  Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA560-F-13-194
      June 2013

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                                                          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 subject to change.
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA560-F-13-194
       June 2013

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