Brownfields 2011 Job Training Grant Fact Sheet
~ Memphis Bioworks Foundation, TN
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
The Memphis Bioworks Foundation's job training
program will serve inner city neighborhoods in North
Job Training Grant
$292,772
EPA has selected the Memphis Bioworks
Foundation for an environmental workforce
development and job training grant. The
Foundation plans to train 80 students, place 56
graduates in environmental jobs, and track
graduates for one year. The training program will
consist of four training cycles. The 58-hour core
training will include 40-hour HAZWOPER, solid
waste management, leaking underground storage
tank prevention, and innovative and alternative
treatment technologies. Students will then choose
one of two technical training tracks for 56-hour
healthy homes construction or 32-hour green
industries/transport. Primary trainers will be from
educational institutions and private providers,
including Mississippi State University and the
University of Tennessee. Students will be
recruited from unemployed residents of the target
area and residents from two ex-offender programs.
The Foundation will work with environmental
employers who will serve on the Employer
Advisory Committee and community-based
organizations 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 4 Brownfields Team
(404) 562-8792
EPA Region 4 Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/region4/was te/bf)
Grant Recipient: Memphis Bioworks
Foundation,TN
9018661652
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 560-F-11-049
July 2011
-------
Memphis (population 52,021), west of the Wolf River
Harbor and Mississippi River. The area has significantly
lower median incomes and a higher level of poverty than
rest of the state and the country, and 75 percent of
residents are minorities. Poverty rates range from 20.9 to
35.6 percent. Former employers in the area included tire
plants, chemical manufacturers, fertilizer companies, and
crude oil refineries. Other industries included stockyards,
meat packing plants, and lumber mills. According to the
state, there are more than 350 brownfields and 384
out-of-service underground storage tanks in the target
area. Labor market assessments provided by the state
projected growth for hazardous materials removal
workers, forklift operators, materials handlers, and
insulator workers. Employers surveyed anticipated hiring
new employees in the future, especially for workers
trained in healthy home construction, hazardous waste and
recycling transportation, and hazardous substances
remediation. These findings indicate demand for workers
with the environmental training and certifications of
program graduates.
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)
EPA 560-F-11-049
July 2011
------- |