Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that approximately $12 million in funding for environmental job training grants is now available under the Fiscal Year 2023 Brownfields Job Training Program. EPA anticipates awarding approximately 25 grants nationwide at amounts up to $500,000 per award. Applications are due by August 2, 2022, via grants.gov. The Request for Application notice is now posted on www.grants.gov.
“EPA’s Brownfields Job Training Program boosts the environmental workforce while helping to transform communities that need it the most,” said Carlton Waterhouse, EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Land and Emergency Management. “This grant cycle, we were able to increase the amount of funding available so that organizations can apply for more resources as they work to create a skilled workforce in communities where assessment, cleanup, and preparation of brownfield sites for reuse activities are taking place.”
The funding available during this grant cycle comes from the historic $1.5 billion investment from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This budget boost provides communities, states, and Tribes the opportunity to apply for larger grants to build and enhance the environmental curriculum in job training programs to support job creation and community revitalization at brownfield sites. Ultimately, this investment will help trained individuals access jobs created through brownfields revitalization activities within their communities.
EPA is committed to meeting and exceeding the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 goal that at least 40% of the benefits of certain government programs flow to disadvantaged communities. The Brownfields Program will strive to meet this commitment and advance environmental justice and equity considerations into all aspects of our work.
The Request for Applications notice is available at www.grants.gov. A copy of the FY23 Guidelines and other application resources are available at: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-job-training-jt-grants.
The Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization will also host an outreach webinar on June 15, 2022, from 2:00-3:30PM EDT to explain the guidelines for interested applicants and to address commonly asked questions. The link to attend the event is https://usepa.zoomgov.com/j/1602297732. Prior registration is not required.
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