US EPA Funds Brownfields Job Training Across the Country

One of Hillary Clinton’s “big mistakes” in the 2016 presidential campaign was admitting that the coal industry could not and would not be revived, but saying that she’d put programs in place to help with retraining and to help coal workers find new jobs. That was not a popular thing to say. Donald Trump took the route of lying and said he’d bring coal back and make coal country great again, or something like that. Of course, he did nothing of the sort, and he had no plan in place to help people in the coal industry as coal declined and they lost their jobs. (I imagine they still voted for him in 2020 and 2024 nonetheless.)

The Biden administration went forward with the kind of thing Clinton was planning, and it continues to roll out funding and support for people going from an old, dirty, dying industry to finding their way in a new era of clean energy. However, coal isn’t the only field where this can be what’s needed. There are brownfields all across the country where industries have been shut down or moved somewhere else and people need job retraining. Additionally, there’s great need for cleanup services at such brownfields.

Well, the US EPA (under Biden) is here to help. The EPA just announced numerous programs across the country, and funding to boot, to help get people at brownfield sites into new jobs. A number of these were also announced last week. Here’s a smattering of announcements:

• “Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University has been selected to receive a $403,018 grant to train dislocated workers, veterans, unemployed and undereducated individuals impacted by the decline of the coal industry within the LENOWISCO Planning District. […] The Brownfields Job Training Program grants are funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will advance economic opportunity and environmental justice. Virginia Tech plans to train 35 students, placing 25 in environmental jobs.”
  • “Thanks to President Biden’s unwavering commitment to historically overburdened communities, EPA is investing $1.4 million in Brownfields Job Training grants in the Mid-Atlantic Region,” said Adam Ortiz, EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator. “These grants are changing lives and improving communities, as well as making a generational impact.”
• “The Center for Nonprofit Advancement in Washington D.C. has been selected to receive a $500,000 grant to help recruit, train, and place workers in community revitalization and cleanup projects at brownfield sites in the District of Columbia. […]
  • The Center for Nonprofit Advancement plans to train 100 students and place 75 in environmental jobs. Students who complete the training will earn up eight federal certifications. ”
• “Groundwork Richmond has been selected to receive a $500,000 grant to help recruit, train, and place workers in community revitalization and cleanup projects at brownfield sites in Richmond, Virginia. […]
  • Groundwork plans to train 64 students, placing 35 in environmental jobs.”
• “Groundwork Elizabeth and Montclair State University have each been selected to receive a grant to help recruit, train, and place workers in community revitalization and cleanup projects at brownfield sites in New Jersey.”
• “Groundwork Rhode Island has been selected to receive a $500,000 grant to help recruit, train, and place workers in community revitalization and cleanup projects at brownfield sites. […]
  • Groundwork Rhode Island plans to train 72 students, and they have a strong track record of placing the majority of their graduates in environmental jobs. The training program includes 206 hours of instruction. Students who complete the training will earn up to three federal certifications. Groundwork Rhode Island is targeting unemployed, underemployed, and economically underserved adults, as well as individuals with justice-system involvement within Providence, Pawtucket, Central Falls, and Woonsocket.”
• “City of Worcester has been selected to receive a $499,000 grant to help recruit, train, and place workers in community revitalization and cleanup projects at brownfield sites in the Worcester area. […]
  • The City of Worcester plans to train 80 students and they have a strong track record of placing the majority of their graduates in environmental jobs. The training program includes 83 hours of instructional training. Students who complete the training will earn up to two state and five federal certifications. The City of Worcester is targeting students within its six urban core Opportunity Zone Census Tracts, which are identified as disadvantaged Justice40 communities.”
• “St. Louis University has been selected to receive a $500,000 grant to help recruit, train, and place workers in community revitalization and cleanup projects at brownfield sites in the Greater St. Louis, Missouri and Illinois metropolitan statistical area. […]
  • The university plans to train 86 students and place at least 61 in environmental jobs. The training program includes 222 hours of instructional training in areas such as 40-Hour HAZWOPER; Asbestos Abatement Worker; OSHA 10-Hour Construction Safety; Ecosystem Restoration; Enviro Phase I Site Assessments; Excavation and Trenching; Fall Protection; Geographic Info Systems; Hazardous Waste Management (RCRA); Lead Abatement Worker; Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting; Mold Remediation; Confined Space Entry, Soil and Groundwater Sampling, and more.”
• “Eco Ed Impact Corp. has been selected to receive a $500,000 grant to help recruit, train, and place workers in community revitalization and cleanup projects at brownfield sites in the Miami metro area. […]
  • Eco Ed Impact Corp. plans to train 80 students and place 45 in environmental jobs. The training program includes 148 hours of instructional training. Students who complete the training will earn up to two state and four federal certifications. Eco Ed Impact Corp. is targeting unemployed, underemployed, and economically underserved adults, as well as veterans within Hallandale Beach, West Park, Miami Gardens, and Dania Beach within the Miami Metropolitan Area. Key partners include: Ecosystem Service Staffing, EnSafe Inc., the Family Government Agency, the Friends of the Dania Beach Paul DeMaio Library, the Miami-Dade County Community Emergency Response Team, SCS Engineers, the South Florida Regional Planning Council, State Representative Marie Woodson, and the Sustainable Workforce Alliance.”
• “Iowa Western Community College has been selected to receive a $478,474 grant to help recruit, train, and place workers in community revitalization and cleanup projects at brownfield sites in Council Bluffs, Iowa, North Omaha, Nebraska, and the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan statistical area. […]
  • The college plans to train 96 students and place 69 in environmental jobs. Students who complete the training will earn up to five federal certifications. The training program includes instructional training in areas such as 40-Hour HAZWOPER; Asbestos Abatement Worker; OSHA Lead Awareness; OSHA 10-Hour General Industry; OSHA Hazard Communication; General Construction and Deconstruction; and more.”
• “Southwest Economic Solutions has been selected to receive a $315,000 grant to help recruit, train, and place workers in community revitalization and cleanup projects at brownfield sites in Detroit. […]
  • With this grant funding, Southwest Economic Solutions plans to train 60 students and place 34 in environmental jobs. The training program includes 110 hours of instruction in 40-Hour HAZWOPER, OSHA 30-Hour Health and Safety, Asbestos Abatement Worker, and OSHA 30-Hour Construction or General Industry. Students who complete the training will earn up to 12 federal certifications. Southwest Economic Solutions is targeting students within the city of Detroit, with a focus on unemployed, underemployed, and economically underserved adults. The company will partner with the American Job Center, the Michigan Works Agency, Detroit at Work, Detroit Home Builders, the Michigan Department of Corrections, and North America’s Building Trades Unions.”
• “Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the selection of Groundwork Denver to receive $500,000 in grant funding for an environmental job training program in the City of Sheridan and the City and County of Denver. […]
  • Funding from EPA’s Brownfields Job Training grant will support Groundwork Denver’s Green Infrastructure Training (GRIT) program over three years. The GRIT program is a paid opportunity for young adults to develop professional skills in environmental careers. The program provides federal certifications and training in green infrastructure, information about environmental regulations and post-program graduation support.”
    

More information on the EPA’s Brownfields Job Training Program grants, which total nearly $7.7 million, can be found here and here.