I JBt \ Brownfields 2011 Job Training Grant Fact Sheet
The Workplace, Inc., Bridgeport, CT
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 Workplace, Inc., is located in Bridgeport (population
144,229) in southern Connecticut on the Long Island
Job Training Grant
$299,075
EPA has selected the Workplace, Inc., for an
environmental workforce development and job
training grant. The Workplace plans to train 51
students, place 43 graduates in environmental
jobs, and track graduates for two years. The
training program will consist of a three-week,
126-hour core training and one of two additional
training clusters. One cluster is a 108-hour cycle
of brownfields and environmental remediation,
including lead and asbestos abatement. The second
cluster is a 96-hour cycle of solid waste
management, including deconstruction, debris
collection, recycling and leadership courses. Core
courses will include 40-hour HAZWOPER,
underground storage tank leak prevention, and
innovative and alternative treatment technologies.
Primary trainers will be from the Greater
Bridgeport Community Enterprises, Inc., Green
Team. Students will be recruited from
unemployed, low-income, dislocated worker, or
in-need residents of Bridgeport. The Workplace
will work with local environmental employers and
trade unions 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 1 Brownfields Team
(617) 918-1424
EPA Region 1 Brownfields Web site
(http://www.epa.gov/regionl/bro wnfields )
Grant Recipient: The Workplace Inc., Bridgeport,
Connecticut
2036108538
United States	c
Environmental	anri Fmpflpn™	EPA 560-F-11-042
nil- a	ancl Emergency	. .
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	JulV2011
Washington, DC 20450	^ v '

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Sound. Bridgeport was once a manufacturing center and
produced arms and munitions during World Wars I and II.
As demand for manufacturing declined, companies closed
and left behind empty factories and environmental
hazards. Today, the poverty rate in the city is 21.1 percent,
and the unemployment rate is 15 percent. Approximately
70 percent of residents are African-American or Latino.
The city has more homes in foreclosure than any other city
in the state. It contains 293 brownfields, including 208
leaking underground storage tanks. The neighborhoods
surrounding these sites are home to predominantly
low-income and minority residents. An environmental
employer survey shows that employers see their market
growing during the next three years in the fields of
demolition, cleanup, and underground storage tank
removal. These employers are seeking environmental
technicians with the certifications of program graduates,
indicating continuing demand for 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	c
Environmental	anri Fmpflpn™	EPA 560-F-11-042
j. j.- a	ancl Emergency	. . .
Protection Agency	Response (5105T)	JulV2011
Washington, DC 20450	^ v '

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