The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $1 million in grant funding for environmental job training programs in Connecticut.
The EPA Brownfield Jobs Training Program will "recruit, train and place workers for community revitalization and cleanup projects at brownfield sites," according to a Dec. 14 news release. Total funding for this program has tripled for 2023 to help increase environmental benefits and assist 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," EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe said in the news release. "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."
Grant recipients are The WorkPlace, based in Bridgeport, Conn., and the Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board, based in Waterbury, Conn., the release reported. Approximately 140 students will be trained between the two programs.
"Congratulations to The WorkPlace and the Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board on earning Brownfields job training grants," EPA New England Regional Administrator David W. Cash said in the release. "Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we can look forward to the important work you will do in bringing skilled workers and environmental jobs to the underserved areas of Bridgeport, Waterbury and the lower Naugatuck Valley region."
