Brownfields Job Training Cooperative Agreements

Brownfield sites are real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. The objective of the Brownfields Job Training Program is to recruit, train, and place unemployed and under-employed residents of solid and hazardous waste-impacted communities with the skills needed to obtain full-time, long term employment. This program promotes the facilitation of activities related to assessment, cleanup, or preparation of contaminated sites, including brownfields, for reuse, by building a local workforce with the skills needed to perform remediation work that is supportive of environmental protection and environmental health and safety. Underemployment is the condition in which people in a labor force are employed less than full-time or at jobs inconsistent with respect to their experience, training, or economic needs. Job Training Grants provide funding to individual nonprofits, local governments, and other eligible organizations to provide environmental training for residents of solid and hazardous waste-impacted communities. Brownfields Job Training Coalition grants are designed for one “lead” eligible entity to partner with one or more eligible entities that do not have the capacity to apply for and manage their own EPA cooperative agreement and otherwise would not have access to Brownfields Grant resources. These grants allow eligible entities to recruit, train, and place unemployed and underemployed residents of solid and hazardous waste-impacted communities. Grant recipients can allocate up to 40% of the total award for participant support costs related to transportation for trainees, childcare, and compensation for trainees to participate in the training. A critical part of the Brownfields Job Training program is to further sustainable community revitalization by ensuring that all residents living in communities historically affected by economic disinvestment, health disparities, and disproportionate and adverse exposures to environmental contamination, which may include low-income, sensitive populations (as discussed in CERCLA § 104(k)(6)(C)(x)), Tribal and Indigenous communities, have an opportunity to reap the benefits of revitalization and environmental cleanup. This program builds strong partnerships and local capacity to assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfield sites. Job Training Grants may be funded under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Recipients will be required to report program accomplishments for IIJA-funded activities in the Assessment, Cleanup and Redevelopment, Exchange System (ACRES) and collected data will be used to demonstrate successful implementation of the program.