Biden-Harris Administration Announces $500,000 from EPA’s Brownfields Grants to Train Indiana Environmental Workers
Publilshed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a $500,000 grant funded through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for an environmental job training program in Indiana. EPA’s Brownfields Jobs Training Program grant 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.
“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.”
“This grant will provide trainees with vital job skills to help them enter a growing industry,” said EPA Regional Administrator Debra Shore. “EPA is doing more than investing in communities, we are investing in people, in families and in futures.”
“The (FY24 JT) funding would focus on expanding the Green Economy and reducing the harm of potentially hazardous material into our environment, in concert with our mission, to train, educate and provide employment opportunity for the population that have limited opportunities toward contributing to our society,” said Gregg Keesling, president of RecycleForce.
RecycleForce plans to train 120 students and place at least 75 in environmental jobs. They will work primarily with students from Indianapolis, specifically underemployed and unemployed residents, people with justice-system involvement, and people experiencing homelessness. Students who complete the training will earn up to one state and 15 federal certifications.
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 percent of the benefits of certain government programs to disadvantaged communities. Based on data from the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, approximately 97 percent 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
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 the selected Brownfields Job Training grant recipients, including past grant recipients, please visit the Brownfields Grant Fact Sheet Search
For more information on this, and other types of Brownfields Program grants, please visit the Brownfields Job Training Grants webpage.
Read the full article at: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-announces-500000-epas-brownfields-grants-train-indiana
