Brownfields 2011 Job Training Grant Fact Sheet
™ South Tucson, AZ
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 City of South Tucson (population 5,490) is within a
designated Empowerment Zone and has a strong cultural
Job Training Grant
$300,000
EPA has selected the City of South Tucson for an
environmental workforce development and job
training grant. South Tucson plans to train 39
students, place 30 graduates in environmental
jobs, and track graduates for one year. The
training program will consist of three 225-hour,
28-week cycles, and will include courses on
40-hour HAZWOPER, asbestos and lead
inspector, underground storage tank operation and
remediation, and green and alternative
remediation. Primary trainers will be Allwyn
Environmental. Students will be recruited from
low-income, minority, and disadvantaged
residents of South Tucson. South Tucson will
work with the City of Tucson and several local
environmental employers that support the program
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 9 Brownfields Team
415-972-3364
EPA Region 9 Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/region9/bro wnfields)
Grant Recipient: City of South Tucson,AZ
(520) 792-2424
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-11-059
July 2011
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heritage. Incorporated in 1940, South Tucson is physically
bounded on three sides by freeways and the Union Pacific
railroad tracks, which pose contamination threats. The
city's unemployment rate is two and a half times the
national rate, and 43 percent of families live below the
poverty level. Approximately 83 percent of residents are
minorities. There are 127 brownfields covering 19,080
acres in the city, representing 36 percent of the city's
53,000 total acres. Contaminants at brownfields, such as
volatile organic compounds and metals, originated from
automotive repair and salvage shops, railroad operations,
and industrial facilities. Surveys with environmental
employers revealed job opportunities for applicants with
technical skills and training, and their course
recommendations have been incorporated into the job
training program curriculum. Employers cited the need
for environmental technicians with training in asbestos
and lead renovation, innovative remediation, and
alternative energy use, indicating a local demand for
program graduates.
United States Q ., . ,A/__t,.
Environmental andEmeSncy EPA 56°-^ ™
Protection Agency Resoonse (51 Q5Ti July 2011
Washington, DC 20450 Kesponse (bl Ob I)
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