| ^ \ Brownfields 2015 Job Training Grant Fact Sheet Tarrant County College District, TX PRQ1^ EPA Brownfields Program In 2010, the EPA's Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR) led an effort to more closely collaborate with other programs within the Agency 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 (OSRU), Center for Program Analysis (CPA), Innovation, Partnerships, and Communication Office (IPCO), Office of Wastewater Management (OWM), Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP), the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), and the Urban Waters Program. 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 assessment and cleanup. As a result of this effort, the Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training program now allows applicants to deliver a broader array of training in the environmental field, in addition to the traditional brownfields hazardous waste and petroleum training historically provided. Through the expanded Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training program, graduates develop wider skill sets that improve their ability to secure full-time, sustainable employment in various aspects of hazardous and solid waste management and within the larger environmental field, including water quality improvement and chemical safety. This effort also gives communities more flexibility to provide different types of environmental training based on local employers' hiring needs. Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training grant funds are provided to nonprofit organizations and other eligible entities to recruit, train, and place residents from solid and hazardous waste-impacted communities, including low-income and minority, unemployed, and underemployed individuals. To date, EPA has funded 256 job training grants totaling over $54 million through the former Brownfields Job Training program and Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training program. As of April 2015, more than 13,800 individuals have completed training, and of those, more than 10,000 have obtained employment in the environmental field, with an average starting hourly wage of $14.18. This equates to a cumulative placement rate of approximately 72% since the program was created in 1998. Job Training Grant $158,462.00 EPA has selected Tarrant County College District for an Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training grant. Tarrant County College District plans to train 57 students and place at least 45 graduates in wastewater treatment facility jobs. The core training includes 172 hours of instruction in 40-hour HAZWOPER and a suite of wastewater-related training that includes coursework in basic wastewater operation, treatment, and collection; water utility safety and calculations; and wastewater laboratory. Trainees also will participate in a 252-hour advanced wastewater internship program. In addition to a HAZWOPER certification, graduates will earn a wastewater operator license from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Tarrant County College District is targeting unemployed and underemployed residents of Tarrant County, including military veterans. Key partners include the City of Fort Worth, Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County, United Way of Tarrant County, American Water Works Association, and several environmental and community-based organizations. 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 6 Brownfields Team (214)665-3172 EPA Region 6 Brownfields Web site (https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/epa-regi on-6-south-central-brownfields ) Grant Recipient: Tarrant County College District, TX (817)515-7198 Hie 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 _ . w__tp Environmental EPA 560-F-15-027 Protection Agency Re™S (51<»T) M»»2015 Washington, DC 20450 Kesponse (Si us ) ------- |