LENEXA, KAN. (FEB. 2, 2022) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing that the Heartland Conservation Alliance in Kansas City, Missouri, has been selected to receive a grant for a Brownfields job training program, one of 19 organizations across the country to be chosen.
Job training and workforce development are an important part of the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to advance economic opportunities and deliver environmental justice to underserved communities to build a better America.
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a better America and that means new, good-paying jobs. The Brownfields Job Training grants announced today will prepare over 1,000 individuals for new environmental jobs like those,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “This program will directly impact people’s lives, boosting the environmental workforce while helping to transform communities that need it the most.”
The Heartland Conservation Alliance plans to train 54 students and place at least 27 in environmental jobs. The training program includes over 180 hours of instruction in 40-hour Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER); Build Trybe EcoServices Job Training; and OSHA Safety Training. Students who complete the training will earn up to two federal certifications. The Heartland Conservation Alliance is targeting at-risk students aging out of foster care across Kansas City, Missouri.
“Congratulations to the Heartland Conservation Alliance on being selected for EPA’s Brownfields Job Training grant,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Meghan A. McCollister. “The Kansas City area graduates will be prepared for high-paying, environmental restoration jobs including green infrastructure installation and maintenance. These skills will help graduates implement lot re-use plans developed under HCA’s Urban Waters Restoring Vacant Lots Program.”
“We are proud to partner with the EPA to provide a pathway for youth to find employment, many of them in conservation careers,” said Sam Bennett, Heartland Conservation Alliance interim executive director. “This funding dovetails nicely with our current training program and will ensure its long-term stability.”
Funded through the agency’s Brownfields Job Training Program, these grants provide funding to organizations that are working to create a skilled workforce in communities where assessment, cleanup, and preparation of brownfield sites for reuse activities are taking place. Individuals completing a job training program funded by EPA often overcome a variety of barriers to employment. Many of these individuals are from historically underserved neighborhoods and reside in the areas affected by environmental justice issues.
Each selected grantee will be receiving approximately $200,000.
Rather than filling local jobs with contractors from distant cities, these organizations provide training and offer residents of communities historically affected by environmental pollution, economic disinvestment, and brownfields an opportunity to gain the skills and certifications needed to secure local environmental work in their communities. Individuals typically graduate with a variety of certifications that improve their marketability and help ensure that employment opportunities are not just temporary contractual work, but long-term careers. This includes certifications in:
President Biden’s leadership and bipartisan congressional action have delivered the single-largest investment in national brownfields infrastructure ever. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) invests more than $1.5 billion through EPA’s Brownfields program. Of that investment, $30 million will be invested into future Brownfields Job Training grants. During the next five years, communities, states, and tribes will have the opportunity to apply for larger grants to include and enhance the environmental curriculum in existing job training programs. This investment will help trained individuals access jobs created through brownfields revitalization activities within their communities. EPA anticipates awarding as many as 50 additional grants to job training entities with BIL funding, beginning in fiscal year 2023. Application guidelines will be available in spring/summer 2022.
EPA is also planning a listening session to receive feedback from current and potential grant applicants regarding the BIL and the future of the Brownfields Job Training Grant Program. The listening session is scheduled for Feb. 9, 2022, 12:30 to 2 p.m. EST: https://usepa.zoomgov.com/j/1604678094
Since it began in 1998, the Brownfields Job Training Program has awarded over 352 grants. More than 19,456 individuals have completed training, and of those, over 14,560 individuals have been placed in full-time employment in careers related to remediation and environmental health and safety. The average starting wage for these individuals is over $14 an hour.
For more information on the selected Brownfields Job Training grant recipients, including past grantees, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/applicants-selected-fy22-brownfields-job-training-grants
For more information on this, and other types of Brownfields grants, please visit: www.epa.gov/brownfields/brownfields-job-training-jt-grants.