December 12, 2024

Contact Information

EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the selection of 16 organizations to receive nearly $7.7 million in grants for environmental job training programs across the country. The EPA’s Brownfields Job Training Program grants are funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will help recruit, train, and place workers for community revitalization and cleanup projects at brownfield sites while advancing economic opportunity and environmental justice. EPA Office of Land and Emergency Management Deputy Assistant Administrator Cliff Villa will announce the awards in Wichita, Kansas today alongside grant recipient Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas, EPA’s Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister, and the City of Wichita Council Member Brandon Johnson.

“EPA’s Brownfields Job Training Program grants are changing lives and improving communities that have been overburdened by contaminated properties for far too long,” said Cliff Villa, EPA’s Deputy Assistant Administrator for Land and Emergency Management. “Thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, EPA is helping to create good-paying jobs for low income, unemployed, and under-employed residents who are helping make their communities cleaner, healthier and stronger.”

The Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas, the host of today’s event, will provide training in key areas, including asbestos abatement, obtaining a commercial driver’s license for the transportation of hazardous waste, RCRA Hazardous Waste Management, and OSHA 30-hour Occupational Health and Safety for General Industry. This comprehensive training will equip students with the necessary expertise to contribute effectively to their community and empower students with the essential skills needed to tackle and mitigate critical environmental issues within the local community.

Each Brownfields Job Training grant, of up to $500,000, will provide funding to organizations that are working to create a skilled workforce in communities where assessment, cleanup, and preparation of brownfield sites for reuse activities are taking place. Individuals completing a job training program funded by EPA often overcome a variety of barriers to employment. Many are from historically underserved neighborhoods or reside in the areas that are affected by environmental justice issues. All of the FY25 Brownfields Job Training Program applications selected have proposed to work in areas that include disadvantaged communities as defined by the Climate & Economic Justice Screening Tool, delivering on President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative to deliver 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.

Individuals typically graduate from the program with a variety of certifications that improve their marketability and help ensure that employment opportunities are not just temporary contractual work, but long-term environmental careers. This includes certifications in:

Lead and asbestos abatement;

Mold remediation;

Environmental sampling and analysis; and

Other environmental health and safety training. 

Today’s selected applicants are:

Groundwork Rhode Island - Pawtucket, RI

Worcester, City of - Worcester, MA

*Groundwork Elizabeth - Elizabeth, NJ

*Montclair State University - Montclair, NJ

*Center for Nonprofit Advancement - Washington, DC

*Groundwork Richmond Virginia - Richmond, VA

*Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University - Blacksburg, VA

*Eco Ed Impact Corp - Miami, FL

Southwest Economic Solutions - Detroit, MI

Iowa Western Community College - Council Bluffs, IA

*Saint Louis University - St. Louis, MO

*Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas - Wichita, KS

Groundwork Denver - Denver, CO

*NyE Communities Coalition - Pahrump, NV

*Pocatello, City of - Pocatello, ID

*Tribal Solid Waste Advisory Network - Tekoa, WA

*First-time Brownfields Job Training Program grant recipients.

For more information on the selected Brownfields Job Training Grant recipients, including past grant recipients, please visit EPA’s Grant Factsheet Tool.

Background

President Biden’s leadership and bipartisan congressional action delivered the single-largest investment in U.S. brownfields infrastructure ever. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) invests more than $1.5 billion through EPA’s highly successful Brownfields Program and the funding from this grant cycle comes from this historic investment. This budget boost gives EPA the ability to fund more communities, states, and Tribal Nations. In addition, these entities have the opportunity to apply for larger grants to build and enhance their environmental job training curriculums to support job creation and community revitalization around brownfield sites. Ultimately, this investment will help trained individuals gain access to jobs created through brownfields revitalization activities within their communities.

Since 1998, EPA has awarded 430 grants totaling more than $113 million through Brownfield Job Training Programs. With these grants, more than 23,400 individuals have completed training and over 17,400 individuals have been placed in careers related to land remediation and environmental health and safety. Over the last 5 years, the average starting wage for these individuals is approximately $23 per hour. If your organization is considering applying for or has a question related to Brownfields Job Training Grants, please submit a technical assistance request to EPA.

Please see the Types of Brownfields Funding webpage for more.