The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected 16 organizations across the country to receive nearly $7.7 million in grants for environmental job training programs. Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the EPA’s Brownfields Job Training Program grants will help recruit, train, and place workers for community revitalization and cleanup projects at brownfield sites, while advancing economic opportunity and environmental justice.
“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 EPA Office of Land and Emergency Management Deputy Assistant Administrator Cliff Villa. “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.”
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.
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
- Other environmental health and safety training
The Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas hosted the grant announcement, and provides just one example of how the grants will be put to use. The alliance 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.
The full list of selected applicants includes:
- Groundwork Rhode Island – Pawtucket, RI
- 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 detailed information on each grant recipient, visit the EPA’s Brownfields Grant Fact Sheet Search page.
