Contact: [email protected]

EPA selects Auberle for $200,000 grant to support more environmental job training in Southwestern Pa. Designates total of $5.1 million for job training nationwide

PHILADELPHIA (Oct. 25, 2019) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded a $200,000 Brownfields grant to the non-profit organization Auberle based in McKeesport, Pennsylvania.

It is one of 26 organizations nationwide to receive a total of $5.1 million in grants for environmental job training programs. Funded through the agency’s successful Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Program, these grants help to create a skilled workforce in communities where EPA brownfields assessment and cleanup activities are taking place.

“EPA is proud to support Auberle’s environmental job training program in Southwestern Pennsylvania.” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Cosmo Servidio. “Auberle operates a highly respected and award-winning workforce development program with a strong network of partners to help graduates attain important jobs in the environmental field.”

In 2016, Auberle completed its first EPA job training grant and placed 34 graduates in environmental jobs and leveraging more than $35,000 to support the program. Auberle, has 102 employing partners and 89 referral agencies throughout the region. With this new grant, Auberle plans to place an additional 35 graduates in environmental jobs.

Since EPA’s Job Training Program began in 1998, more than 288 grants have been awarded. More than 18,000 individuals have completed training, and of those, more than 13,679 individuals have been placed in full-time employment earning an average starting wage of more than $14 an hour. Rather than filling local jobs with contractors from distant cities, EPA created its environmental job training program to offer residents of communities historically affected by environmental pollution, economic disinvestment, and brownfields an opportunity to gain the skills and certifications needed to secure local environmental work in their communities. 

All 26 selected programs plan to serve communities with census tracts designated as federal Opportunity Zones – an economically-distressed community where new investments, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment.

For more information on all 26 job training grantees awarded today, please visit:

https://cfpub.epa.gov/bf_factsheets/index.cfm?grant_type_id=1003&grant_announcement_year=2018

Background 

EPA’s Job Training Program awards competitive grants to nonprofit organizations and other eligible entities to recruit, train, and place unemployed and underemployed individuals. Individuals completing these training programs have often overcome a variety of barriers to employment. Many are from low-income neighborhoods. The training programs also serve minorities, tribal members, transitioning veterans, dislocated workers who have lost their jobs as a result of manufacturing plant closures, and other individuals who may face barriers to employment.

For more information on this, and other types of Brownfields grants, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/types-brownfields-grant-funding

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Contact: [email protected]

Wyoming Valley Communities have Flexibility
in Implementing their Stormwater Program
(Rain tax not required by EPA)

PHILADELPHIA (Oct. 25, 2019) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today said that it has worked with Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) to ensure local communities have flexibility in planning and implementing local solutions to address stormwater runoff in Pennsylvania.

“EPA has been working diligently to answer questions of local communities concerning stormwater program obligations in Pennsylvania,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Cosmo Servidio.  “Our agency establishes national stormwater standards based on the Clean Water Act and Pennsylvania administers the program on a state-wide basis. In accordance with guidance issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, it is up to local authorities to determine how best to implement and finance their stormwater programs.  This flexibility allows communities to assess their specific needs and make the best decisions for their citizens.“

EPA met recently with stakeholders in the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority (WVSA) stormwater planning area.  The WVSA planning area includes 32 municipalities that are working to achieve clean water goals.  Some of these municipalities have taken advantage of flexibilities in PADEP’s MS4 program to expand their MS4 planning area beyond what is required by state law, in some cases including entire townships in their planning area.  To finance the MS4 program, WVSA has implemented a stormwater fee that applies to properties included in MS4 planning areas.

Local stakeholders expressed concerns to EPA about the expanded MS4 planning areas and the associated stormwater fees.  EPA helped facilitate dialogue about these concerns and continues to encourage local authorities to work together to address them.  The decision to modify or expand a MS4 planning area is a local decision.  Additionally, while WVSA chose the option of charging a stormwater fee – an option many communities have selected – other forms of financing are available, such as general funds, development fees, and low-interest loans.  

The MS4 program is part of the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program under the Clean Water Act, and it requires municipalities located in urbanized areas to obtain permit coverage for stormwater discharges.  PADEP implements the MS4 program in Pennsylvania and state regulations require municipalities in urban areas to implement six minimum control measures.  MS4 communities with discharges to impaired waters also have additional responsibilities.  EPA and PADEP have several financial resources available to help communities meet their stormwater commitments.  These include the Clean Water State Revolving Funds, the EPA Water Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance Center, Green Streets, Green Jobs, Green Towns (G3) Grants, and other financing opportunities.

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US EPA Notice of New Litigation

RE: Notice of Lawsuit Filed Against EPA – Ergon-West Virginia, Inc. v. EPA, No. 19-2128 (4th Cir.)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recently received a petition for review in the above-captioned case that may be of interest to you. This information is provided for your information only, and this notice does not require you to take any action.

A copy of this can be found here: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2019-10/documents/ergon_19-2128_pfr_10152019.pdf

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To view other complaints and filings, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/ogc

You are receiving this notice because this email address is subscribed to this topic. Manage your subscription at https://www.epa.gov/ogc/email-subscriptions-new-litigation-notifications.

Contact: [email protected]

            EPA offers compliance assistance to community water treatment facilities

PHILADELPHIA (October 25, 2019) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Mid-Atlantic Region is offering free compliance assistance to smaller water and wastewater treatment facilities in five states and the District of Columbia to help improve water quality protection throughout the mid-Atlantic.

“EPA is providing valuable technical assistance and training to operators of smaller public and private treatment facilities to help bring them into compliance with water quality standards set forth in the Clean Water Act,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Cosmo Servidio. “This will ultimately lead to improved operating facilities and cleaner waterways throughout the mid-Atlantic region.”

States included in the project are Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Plants that optimize their treatment performance often experience costs savings through reduced energy and chemical treatment usage. EPA is also working with state partners and other technical assistance providers to increase the number of facilities reached through this effort. 

EPA has already had success in assisting smaller communities including Adamstown Borough, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania where technical assistance and training from EPA and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection led to a 40 % reduction in electrical costs. EPA continues to work with Adamstown on new technologies to remove total nitrogen from water.

The Region will be offering two training sessions in November, including a Wastewater Exam Preparation Course on November 7 in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania and a Process Control Course on December 12 in Cumberland, Maryland.

Facilities and system operators that are seeking compliance assistance and training opportunities can contact Walter Higgins of the Water Division’s Infrastructure and Assistance Section at 215-814-5476 or [email protected].