Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR) has opened up another round of its Brownfields Job Training Grants program.
The objective of the Brownfields Job Training Program is to recruit, train, and place unemployed and under-employed residents of solid and hazardous waste-impacted communities with the skills needed to obtain full-time, sustainable employment. This program promotes the facilitation of activities related to assessment, cleanup, or preparation of contaminated sites, including brownfields, for reuse, while simultaneously building a local workforce with the skills needed to perform remediation work that is supportive of environmental protection and environmental health and safety.
A critical part of EPA’s Brownfields Job Training program is to further environmental justice by ensuring that all residents living in communities historically affected by economic disinvestment, health disparities, and disproportionate and adverse exposures to environmental contamination, which may include low-income, minority, Tribal and indigenous communities, have an opportunity to reap the benefits of revitalization and environmental cleanup.
Through the link to on-the-ground assessment and cleanup activities, Brownfields Job Training Grants provide funding to attract, train, and retain a skilled local workforce by prioritizing unemployed and under-employed residents of communities impacted by a variety of waste facilities, blighted properties, and contaminated sites. This program also advances environmental justice through the Justice40 Initiative.
Brownfields Job Training Grant funds can be used for brownfields assessment and cleanup training, as well as training in the areas of community involvement and site preparation for sustainability and equitable reuse and development. Applicants may choose to deliver a variety of other brownfields related environmental training activities as listed in the Notice of Funding Opportunity.
Eligible applicants include state and local governments, Tribes, and nonprofit organizations. Eligible use of grant funds range from personnel and recruitment costs to on-the-job insurance for trainees and the development and refinement of existing curricula for training.
Examples of eligible trainings with Brownfields Job Training grant funds include:
- Training in the assessment, inventory, analysis, and remediation of sites or facilities at which hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, and petroleum products are located, transported, or disposed, including training for jobs in environmental sampling, demolition, underground storage tank removal, groundwater extraction, site remediation, and equitable development associated with brownfields.
- Training in sustainable deconstruction in preparation of a brownfield site cleanup or redevelopment.
- Training in first-aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and how to mitigate safety risks from bloodborne pathogens in a site remediation setting.
- Please refer to the funding opportunity for an extensive list of training examples.
The total funding available under this competitive opportunity is approximately $14,000,000. EPA anticipates awarding approximately 20 Brownfields Job Training grants. Applicants may apply for up to $500,000 of EPA funds for projects up to 5 years. Training is anticipated to conclude by the end of the fourth year, with the fifth year of the project period devoted to the placement of remaining graduates in employment and reporting accomplishments data to EPA.
Key Dates
- Thursday, June 6, 2024, 12-1pm CT - Webinar - Grant Guideline Outreach - Zoom link here
- Thursday, August 15, 2024 at 11:59 PM ET - Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Closes
Resources
- Brownfield Training Grants main website
- Fiscal Year 2025 Brownfields Job Training Grant Guidelines (pdf) (674.3 KB)
- Brownfields Job Training Grants Factsheet
- Fiscal Year 2025 Brownfields Job Training Guidelines Summary of Changes (pdf) (358.2 KB)
- Frequently Asked Questions About Brownfields Job Training (JT) Grants
- Interested in Applying for Brownfields Job Training Funding?
- Technical Assistance to Brownfields provider
- List of Eligible and Ineligible Brownfield Job Training Courses
- Brownfields Job Training Grants – Technical Assistance Resources