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Success Story: Chattanooga, Tennessee
Key Topics
The Tennessee Products Superfund site is located in a predominantly minority neighborhood in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In 1997, the Superfund program embarked on an innovative effort that merged site remediation with "hands-on" job training, thereby allowing EPA to clean the property and support its mission with regard to community involvement. This effort was made possible through a unique coalition comprised of EPA Superfund staff, the local community, the local Community Advisory Group, the Southeast Tennessee Private Industry Council (SETPIC), the National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC), site cleanup contractors, and a job training program called Envirojobs.
EPA was first invited to discuss SuperJTI in Chattanooga at a public meeting sponsored by the Alton Park/Piney Woods Neighborhood Improvement Corporation, in March 1997. The meeting was highly charged, with a wide range of concerns expressed by community members. One concern was that the community benefit economically from the funds spent on site cleanup through job training for local residents and subsequent hiring of those residents at the site. A SuperJTI effort was officially begun in Chattanooga in April 1997 employing the bootstrap model. In May 1997, a City Councilman provided the leadership to unite various factions of the community into a Community Advisory Group. With this as a backdrop, EPA sought to identify potential partners with the resources and expertise to develop a job training program in Chattanooga through cooperative efforts.
By July 1997, EPA had identified SETPIC in Chattanooga and NAMC in Washington, D.C., both of which were willing to work in the partnership. Coincidentally, in July 1997, the SETPIC was awarded a Department of Labor grant to pilot the Envirojobs program with the Global Environmental Technology Foundation, the Tennessee Valley Authority, Chattanooga State University and River Valley Partners. While Envirojobs was targeted to dislocated workers, both the SuperJTI and Envirojobs participants felt that linking the two efforts would be beneficial.
Establishing the partnership demanded numerous phone calls and continued negotiations over several months, until the partners agreed to hold routine conference calls in November 1997. During the first conference call the partners established a general approach and set up a meeting of the key partners in Chattanooga on December 1, 1997. At the meeting, national and local organizations were invited to participate in the partnership to develop, structure, and implement a program that served the local community's needs. At this meeting and in subsequent meetings, participants established roles, responsibilities, goals, and a timeline to support the SuperJTI program. Volunteers stepped forward to offer pre-employment and OSHA training, facilities, outreach, and administrative support.
The collaborative effort resulted in the development and delivery of two training courses: a one-week Pre-Employment/Introduction to Environmental Careers course, and a one-week course on Worker Protection Training for Hazardous Waste Operations (OSHA §1910.120). The first-week's training was provided by SETPIC, while the second-week's worker protection course was provided by NAMC. Participants who successfully completed the second week of class received a certification that allows them to compete for jobs at hazardous waste sites, thereby enhancing their employability in the environmental field. The partnership also held a job fair in the summer of 1998 to spur placement of existing trainees in the local workforce. For students who realized they did not want to pursue an environmental career, SETPIC offered other potential career pathways. The partnership has created long-term opportunities for the residents of the Alton Park and Piney Woods neighborhoods that will help them get back on the road to economic prosperity.