EPA Selects 11 California Organizations to Receive $5.5 Million for Environmental Career Training
Brownfields Job Training Grants to Boost Local Economies and Clean Up Communities
SAN FRANCISCO – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the selection of 11 California organizations to receive approximately $500,000 each in Brownfields Job Training grant funding. Grants awarded to California are nearly half of the $12 million awarded nationally.
This funding will help the organizations recruit, train, and place workers for community revitalization and cleanup projects at Brownfield sites. EPA's Brownfields Program helps grow local economies and supports efforts to clean up contaminated sites and return blighted properties to productive use.
“We are thrilled to award these grants to job training organizations throughout California,” said Michael Martucci, Acting EPA Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “This funding invests in local economies, equips trainees with marketable skills to support environmental cleanup efforts, and helps return contaminated sites to safe, productive use while creating pathways to good-paying local jobs.”
The job training grants will provide funds to help train and grow the skilled workforce in communities where Brownfield site assessment, cleanup, and preparation for reuse activities are underway. Participants often overcome various employment barriers and graduate with certifications that enhance their marketability, ensuring long-term environmental careers.
Certifications include:
• Lead and asbestos abatement.
• Hazardous waste operations and emergency response.
• Mold remediation.
• Environmental sampling and analysis.
• Other environmental health and safety training.
The California organizations selected include Ventura County Workforce Development Board, Hunters Point Family, City of Carson, City of Richmond, Anchor of Hope International Ministries, San Diego State University Research Foundation, Cypress Mandella Training Center, San Gabriel Valley Conservation Corps, People Working Together United Inc., Port of Oakland, and the Sierra Institute for Community and Environment.
For more information on the selected Brownfields Job Training Grant recipients, including past grant recipients, please visit EPA’s Grant Factsheet Tool.
Background
EPA’s Brownfields Program began in 1995 and has provided nearly $2.9 billion in grants to assess and clean up contaminated properties and return blighted properties to productive reuse. To date, Brownfields investments have leveraged more than $42 billion for cleanup and redevelopment and have created more than 220,500 American jobs. Since 1998, EPA has awarded 456 grants totaling over $119 million through Brownfield Job Training Programs.
With these grants, more than 23,400 individuals have completed training and over 17,400 individuals have been placed in careers related to land remediation and environmental health and safety. Over the last five years, the average starting wage for these individuals has been approximately $23 per hour.
If your organization is considering applying for or has a question related to Brownfields Job Training Grants, submit a technical assistance request at EPA’s Brownfields Job Training Program Assistance Inquiry Form website.
For more information on this and other types of Brownfields Grants, please visit EPA’s Brownfields Funding website.
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