LENEXA, KAN. (JAN. 10, 2023) – Today at the Missouri Job Center in Springfield, Missouri, EPA Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister presented a $500,000 ceremonial check to the City of Springfield, Missouri, as a Brownfields Job Training grant selectee. McCollister was joined by city leaders Mayor Ken McClure, City Manager Jason Gage, and Interim Director of Workforce Development Ericka Schmeeckle.
With this funding, the city plans to train 112 students and place at least 70 of them in environmental jobs. The city’s training program, Green for Greene, includes over 300 hours of instruction in areas such as hazardous waste, health and safety, lead and mold abatement, and first aid. Green for Greene is tuition-free to accepted students and targets residents of Springfield who are unemployed or underemployed, veterans, and individuals with justice system involvement.
“The City of Springfield’s Green for Greene program is a leader in recruiting and training students from underserved populations,” said McCollister. “EPA’s Brownfields Program is known for giving a fresh start to blighted sites, and that’s what the city is offering to its student trainees through this program. We’re proud to continue this much-needed investment in a skilled environmental workforce in partnership with the city.”
“We are so pleased with our relationship with the EPA and the ongoing work to help provide environmental jobs in Springfield,” said McClure. “This funding will be life changing for many of our residents, while also helping to fill a worker shortage in our community. It is exciting to expand Green for Greene, which in turn will expand our skilled workforce.”
“We are incredibly grateful to receive this $500,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to continue and expand our Green for Greene environmental job training program,” said Maurice Jones, deputy city manager of Springfield. “Nationally as well as regionally, demand for a skilled workforce has risen. This program provides participants the opportunity to become a part of the growing supply of skilled workers, a supply that has not grown fast enough in recent years to keep pace with labor market demand. We are excited about our continued partnership with the EPA and look forward to working together to build a skilled workforce for our region.”
This grant is part of the $1.5 million in grants funded through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for environmental job training programs in Missouri. Springfield plans to expand its Green for Greene program at the Ozark Correctional Facility. To date, over 30 justice-involved individuals have completed the job training program.
Background
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 EPA’s December 2022 announcement have proposed projects in historically underserved areas.
Individuals completing a job training program funded by 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 that 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
- 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 underemployed 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, EPA has awarded 371 Brownfields Job Training grants. With these grants, over 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 page.
For more information on this and other types of Brownfields Program grants, please visit the Brownfields Job Training Grants page.
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