^ Brownfields 2011 Job Training Grant Fact Sheet
& Pathways-VA, Inc., Petersburg, VA
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
Located in eastern Virginia, Pathways-VA, Inc., will
target its job training activities in the City of Petersburg
Job Training Grant
$300,000
EPA has selected Pathways-VA, Inc., for an
environmental workforce development and job
training grant. Pathways-VA plans to train 64
students, place 45 graduates in environmental
jobs, and track graduates for one year. The
training program will be provided in four cycles
covering 192 to 258 hours of instruction, and will
include 40-hour HAZWOPER, innovative and
alternative treatment technologies, solid waste
management awareness, lead abatement, and
underground storage tank leak prevention
awareness. Pathways-VA will serve as the primary
training provider. Students will be recruited from
unemployed and underemployed residents, and
veterans transitioning from the military, including
the Fort Lee Army Base. Pathways-VA will use its
partnerships with area employers to place
graduates in environmental jobs. Partners include
recycling and other area firms, trade unions, the
Crater Regional Workforce Investment Board, and
the City of Petersburg.
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 3 Brownfields Team
(215)814-3129
EPA Region 3 Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/bf -Ir)
Grant Recipient: Pathways-VA, Inc.
8048621104
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
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, DC 20450
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105T)
EPA 560-F-11-046
July 2011
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(population 32,174). The city's economy has been
disrupted by the decline of the tobacco industry, which
also affected area agriculture. The poverty rate has
increased more than 22 percent in the last six years to 19.6
percent, and the unemployment rate is 13.2 percent.
Approximately 82 percent of residents are minorities. The
largest brownfields in Petersburg are vacant tobacco
factories. The state reported 113 cases of pollution and 12
petroleum releases in the city in 2010, and EPA cited
three RCRA corrective action cases. There are also five
commercial recycling plants and a landfill in Petersburg.
According to the Virginia Workforce Connection,
employment of those with environmental training and
credentials will grow 10.8 percent in the region during the
next five years. These jobs include hazardous materials
removal workers, occupational health and safety
specialists, and protective service workers. Environmental
professional employers in the area agree that graduates
with the program's skills will continue to be in demand.
negotiated. Therefore, activities described in this
fact sheet are subject to change.
United States Q ., . ,A/__t,.
Environmental andEmeSncy EPA 56°-^ 1
Protection Agency Resoonse (51 Q5Ti July
Washington, DC 20450 Kesponse (bl Ob I)
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