SAN FRANCISCO – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a total of $1.5 million in grants funded through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for environmental job training programs in California. The grants through EPA’s Brownfields Jobs Training Program will recruit, train, and place workers for community revitalization and cleanup projects at brownfield sites. EPA is awarding more than $14 million in grants for job training programs to 29 organizations across the country. 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.
“These grants will bring clear benefits to communities in California, offering residents training and certifications to clean up contaminated properties and begin environmental careers,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA is bringing unprecedented resources to our longstanding commitment to help revitalize underserved communities.”
The selected grant recipients are:
Cypress Mandela Training Center, Inc., Oakland and Alameda County, $500,000 grant
Cypress Mandela Training Center (CMTC), Inc., is a nonprofit based in Oakland, providing training and employment assistance. Under the EPA Brownfields Job Training grant, CMTC plans to train 205 students on various environmental health and safety topics and place graduates in environmental careers. This project will focus on training residents from the City of Oakland and Alameda County, specifically unemployed, underemployed, low-income, and at-risk individuals, people of color, and residents with justice-system involvement.
“Since 1993 the EPA funding for the Brownfields Program has been successful and has allowed Cypress Mandela Training Center to provide free training, which includes high quality environmental certifications that lead to long-term careers,” said Eric Shanks, Cypress Mandela Training Center Executive Director.
Los Angeles Conservation Corps, Los Angeles and East Los Angeles, $500,000 grant
The Los Angeles Conservation Corps (LACC) is an environmental nonprofit located in Los Angeles, providing training and employment assistance to residents of Los Angeles County with a focus on unemployed, underemployed, low-income, and at-risk individuals, people of color, and residents with justice-system involvement. LACC plans to train 96 students with this Brownfields Job Training grant, and trainees will complete the program holding three federal, three state, and 12 industry-recognized certifications, which are highly desirable in environmental careers.
“EPA’s funding through the Brownfields Job Training program is invaluable in communities that have suffered from economic disinvestment and environmental injustice,” said Los Angeles Conservation Corps CEO, Wendy Butts. “This training has created leaders in the environmental field and paved the way for community wealth-building.”
City of Richmond’s RichmondBUILD program, $500,000 grant
The City of Richmond’s RichmondBUILD Brownfields Job Training Partnership will help address public health and environmental justice in neighborhoods impacted by environmental harms through this Brownfields Job Training grant. The program serves participants from these same communities who are underemployed or unemployed, have justice-system involvement, are people of color, or are veterans. Individuals trained in the program will gain skills to serve their own communities through local remediation of projects. Students who complete the training will earn up to seven industry certifications.
“Graduates of the EPA-RichmondBUILD programs have obtained careers in the environmental remediation field and great redevelopment jobs,” said Fred Lucero, RichmondBUILD Program Manager. “Through the USEPA funding, we have trained hundreds of Richmond residents changing our community one person at a time.”
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
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.
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