The $500,000 for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Job Training Program jobs in Puerto Rico announced last week could provide long-term careers in communities that need it most.
The money, part of grants announced for organizations nationwide, is being spent to recruit, train and place workers for community revitalization and cleanup projects, according to an EPA Dec. 14 news release. The funds are coming from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed by President Joe Biden in November of last year.
"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 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."
The 29 organizations in Puerto Rico that will receive a share of the $500,000 in grants includes PathStone Corporation, which will receiving $14.3 million. The New York-based PathStone Corporation plans to train up to 120 students in Puerto Rico and place then place at least 80 in environmental jobs. The grant is PathStone's fifth under the EPA Brownfields Job Program.
"With this unprecedented amount of funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we can provide people the tools and skills they need to find long-term employment," EPA Region 2 Administrator Lisa F. Garcia said in the news release. "This funding will provide under- and unemployed people in Puerto Rico critical training so they can reimagine and revitalize their neighborhoods and bring environmental justice to their communities, which have been so often overlooked."
