Brownfields 2011 Job Training Grant Fact Sheet
Richmond, CA
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 the City of Richmond for an
environmental workforce development and job
training grant. Richmond plans to train 68 students,
place 60 graduates, and track graduates for one year.
The training program will consist of five 250-hour
training cycles that will include 40-hour
HAZWOPER, underground storage tank leak
prevention awareness, lead and mold abatement, and
construction skills and green building standards.
Primary trainers will be from the city's Employment
and Training Department. Students will be recruited
from low-income, minority city residents who are
unemployed or underemployed. Richmond has
strong relationships with industry employers and
construction companies who will work with the city
to place graduates in environmental jobs. The city
also has local first-source hiring incentives in place
to increase employment opportunities for local
workers.
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/brownfields)
Grant Recipient: City of Richmond, California
5103078009
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-11-058
Jul 11
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Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, the City of
Richmond (population 103,701) was a central location
for shipbuilding during World War II. Heavy industry
and petrochemical production also became important
employers. The city has since experienced large-scale
deindustrialization, and is a state-designated Enterprise
Zone. The unemployment rate is 17.9 percent, and
employment opportunities are being impacted by
continuing business closures and layoffs. On many
blocks, more than 20 percent of homes are in
foreclosure. Approximately 78 percent of residents are
African-American, Hispanic, or Asian. The city
contains 41 environmentally impacted sites that total
1,054 acres, including sites related to the port, chemical
production, and refinery activity. The labor market for
skilled environmental employment in the San Francisco
Bay Area offers promising opportunities for program
graduates. Job growth is expected for hazardous
material removal specialists, environmental compliance
officers, and environmental technicians. There also are
multiple city projects underway that promise to provide
substantial environmental employment opportunities.
Demand is expected to continue through 2018 for
workers with the skills of program graduates.
United States __,.
EPA
Protection Agency ResDonse(51oVn JuM1
Washington, DC 20450 Kesponse (bl Ob I )
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