Biden-Harris Administration Announces $14.3 Million in Brownfields Grants from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to Train Environmental Workers

EPA selects 29 organizations to receive first Brownfields Job Training grants funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, boosting workforce training in underserved, overburdened communities

December 14, 2022

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the selection of 29 organizations to receive a total of more than $14 million in grants funded through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for environmental job training programs across the country. The grants through EPA’s Brownfields Jobs Training Program will recruit, train, and place workers for community revitalization and cleanup projects at brownfield sites. Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, total funding for the program has more than tripled for fiscal year 2023, ensuring stronger environmental benefits and more economic opportunities in overburdened and underserved areas. This is the largest amount of total funds EPA has ever awarded for Brownfields Job Training grants.

“President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is supercharging EPA’s Brownfields Program, which is transforming blighted sites, protecting public health, and creating economic opportunities in more overburdened communities than ever before,” said EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe. “The investments announced today will not only support the cleanup of some of our nation’s most polluted areas, but they will also equip a new generation of workers to take on the significant environmental challenges that plague overburdened neighborhoods, and jumpstart sustainable, long-term careers in the communities that need these jobs the most.”

EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe announced the grants while attending a Greencorps Chicago graduation ceremony, where its partner, OAI, Inc., a Brownfield Job Training selectee and community-based organization, works to provide skills training that leads to safe, meaningful employment while helping companies and communities to thrive. The Deputy Administrator was also joined by EPA Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore.

President Biden’s leadership and bipartisan Congressional action have delivered the single-largest investment in U.S. brownfields infrastructure ever through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which invests more than $1.5 billion over five years through EPA’s highly successful Brownfields Program. This historic investment enables EPA to fund more communities, states, and Tribes, and provides the opportunity for grantees to build and enhance the environmental curriculum in job training programs that support job creation and community revitalization.

The Brownfields Jobs Training Program also advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to deliver at least 40% of the benefits of certain government programs to disadvantaged communities. Based on data from the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, approximately 97% of the communities selected to receive funding as part of today’s announcement have proposed projects in historically underserved areas.

Individuals completing a job training program funded by the EPA often overcome a variety of barriers to employment. Many trainees are from historically underserved neighborhoods or reside in areas that are overburdened by pollution.

Graduates of Brownfields Job Training programs learn valuable, sought-after skills and have the opportunity to earn a variety of certifications, ensuring employment opportunities result not just in temporary contractual work, but in long-term environmental careers. This includes certifications in:

• Lead and asbestos abatement,
• Hazardous waste operations and emergency response,
• Mold remediation,
• Environmental sampling and analysis, and
• Other environmental health and safety training

Today’s selected grant recipients are:

Background:

Brownfields Job Training (JT) grants allow nonprofits, local governments, and other organizations to recruit, train, and place unemployed and under-employed residents of areas affected by the presence of brownfield sites. Through the JT Program, graduates develop the skills needed to secure full-time, sustainable employment in various aspects of hazardous and solid waste management and within the larger environmental field, including sustainable cleanup and reuse, and chemical safety. These green jobs reduce environmental contamination and build more sustainable futures for communities.

Since 1998, the EPA has awarded 371 Brownfields Job Training grants. With these grants, more than 20,341 individuals have completed trainings and over 15,168 individuals have been placed in careers related to land remediation and environmental health and safety.

For more information on today's selected Brownfields Job Training Grant Recipients, please visit the Brownfields Grant Fact Sheet Tool.

For more information on this, and other types of Brownfields Program grants, please visit the Brownfields Job Training Grants webpage.