The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that the Louisiana based company, Limitless Vistas Inc (LVI) will receive $500,000 in grants funded through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for environmental job training programs. The grants through the EPA’s Brownfields Jobs Training Program will recruit, train, and place workers for community revitalization and cleanup projects at brownfield sites. 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.
“President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is supercharging the EPA Brownfields Program, which is transforming blighted sites, protecting public health, and creating economic opportunities in more overburdened communities than ever before,” said EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe. “The investments announced 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 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continues to provide crucial funding to environmental programs across the nation,” said Regional Administrator Dr. Earthea Nance. “This investment will give back to the New Orleans community by helping job-seekers gain professional skills needed in the environmental workforce. We thank and congratulate Limitless Vistas, Inc for their hard work serving vulnerable communities and for their continued partnership with the EPA.”
“The EPA Brownfields funding helps Limitless Vistas, Inc. provide important career training for serving unemployed, underemployed, and low-income minorities, including formerly incarcerated persons, veterans and those who may have little to no advanced education past the high school level,” said LVI Executive Director Sherry Callaway. “The training received through this program helps fulfil LVI's mission to provide young adults and adults the skills and knowledge necessary to become gainfully employed in the environmental industry or conservation field, build a hopeful future, develop civic pride and establish life-long conservation skills and attitudes.”
LVI was founded in 2006 by Patrick Barnes who prioritized creating opportunities for young adults. Since their founding, LIV has provided free job training and environmental conservation workforce development, which has led to the training of 600 individuals. By funding the EPA Brownfields Job Training, LVI can educate, train and recruit individuals who have been affected by the Brownfield sites contamination. For more information, please see the Limitless Vistas’s website.
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 percent of the benefits of certain government programs to disadvantaged communities. Based on data from the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, approximately 97 percent of the communities selected to receive funding as part of the 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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