The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking applications from eligible entities, including nonprofit organizations, to deliver Brownfields Job Training programs that recruit, train, and retain a local, skilled workforce by prioritizing unemployed and under-employed residents to obtain the skills and credentials needed for pathways into full-time employment in various aspects of hazardous and solid waste management and within the larger environmental field, including sustainable cleanup and reuse, and chemical safety.
Donor Name: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 08/02/2023
Size of the Grant: $500,000
Grant Duration: 5 years
Details:
This funding opportunity is made available through EPA’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR). This program is being funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Public Law 117-58 (the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law”).
“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, sustainable employment. This program promotes the facilitation of activities related to assessment, cleanup, or preparation of contaminated sites, including brownfields, for reuse, while simultaneously building a local workforce with the skills needed to perform remediation work that is supportive of environmental protection and environmental health and safety.” A critical part of EPA’s Brownfields Job Training program is to further environmental justice by ensuring that all residents living in communities historically affected by economic disinvestment, health disparities, and disproportionate and adverse exposures to environmental contamination, including low-income, minority, tribal and indigenous communities, have an opportunity to reap the benefits of revitalization and environmental cleanup. In addition, EPA intends to use the grant opportunity to support the creation of good-paying jobs with the free and fair choice to join a union and the incorporation of strong labor standards and workforce programs, in particular registered apprenticeships, labor management partnerships or other quality workforce training programs, including high quality pre-apprenticeships (tied to Registered Apprenticeships), and Local Hire agreements in project planning stages and program delivery.
Brownfields Job Training Grants help residents take advantage of jobs across a spectrum of brownfield related activities, including the assessment, cleanup, remediation, and planning/site preparation for the revitalization of brownfields. This can involve the assessment and cleanup of solid and hazardous waste; chemical risk management; stormwater management relating to site cleanup; planning and site preparation for low impact development activities; planning and site preparation for green infrastructure installation and maintenance; and vulnerability assessment and contamination mitigation planning.
Eligible Uses of Grant
Funds Grant funds must be used for direct programmatic costs associated with implementing a Brownfields Job Training program. Examples of eligible uses of grant funds are listed below. Please note that this list is intended to be illustrative. Applicants must indicate the specific types of training they propose to deliver in their training program description.
- Personnel costs, including fringe benefits, for instructors to conduct training and other tasks associated with programmatic training
- Personnel and data infrastructure costs to support programmatic reporting requirements, performance-management, and program-evaluation.
- Costs for screening and placement of individuals in the training program. Personnel costs for caseworkers or other specialists who work with participants to identify barriers they face to employment, connect them to resources, and support their success in the program and employment for up to one year following the training program.
- Costs for training materials and work gear associated with the training curriculum.
- Development and refinement of existing curricula for training.
- Personnel costs for employer engagement activities, including building new employer relationships, working with employers to inform curriculum, involving employers in the training program, securing hiring commitments for graduates, and supporting trainee success in employment following the program
- Training in the assessment, inventory, analysis, and remediation of sites or facilities at which hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, and petroleum products are located, transported, or disposed, including training for jobs in environmental sampling, demolition, underground storage tank removal, groundwater extraction, site remediation, and equitable development associated with brownfields.
- Training in sustainable deconstruction in preparation of a brownfield site cleanup or redevelopment.
- Training participants in the use of techniques and methods for cleanup of hazardous substances, petroleum, and pollutants, such as asbestos abatement; lead abatement; lead renovation, repair, and painting (RRP); mold remediation; and cleaning up sites contaminated by the manufacturing of illegal drugs (e.g., methamphetamine labs), abandoned gas stations, or mine-scarred lands.
- Training in confined space entry.
- Training in first-aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and blood-borne pathogens.
- Training in chemistry, toxicology, and geology to the extent necessary to inventory, assess, remediate, and clean up contaminated sites.
- Training in the requirements and implementation of the All Appropriate Inquiries (AAI) Final Rule, as required in CERCLA Section 101(35)(B), and due diligence.2
- Training in radiation safety and the cleanup of uranium mine tailings. Training in Hazardous Material (HAZMAT) commercial driver’s license (CDL) 3 , forklift, and machine operations associated with the transportation of hazardous waste.
- Training in Freon removal or the removal of hazardous substances from white goods located on a brownfield site.
- Training in the use of compost and soil amendments and associated sampling, testing, and design considerations, and management techniques to support the assessment, cleanup and preparation of sites for urban agriculture and horticulture.
- Training participants in planning and conducting ecological restoration of contaminated land, including general botanical classes or introductory horticultural classes related to land and stream restoration or indigenous species and native plant re-vegetation; landscaping; and soil science related to preparing sites for reuse and redevelopment.
- Awareness training in Environmental Stewardship and Environmental Justice to promote community involvement in assessment, cleanup and reuse of brownfield sites.
- Training in climate change mitigation and adaptation or resiliency as it relates to preparation of brownfield sites for cleanup and subsequent reuse.
- Training in Green Infrastructure and Stormwater Management; and Erosion and Sediment Control for site remediation and preparation for reuse and redevelopment.
- Training in building trades related to constructing berms, caps, synthetic barriers, pumping facilities, bioretention systems, and similar structures to remediate contamination and site preparation.
- Training in national historic preservation and tribal historic preservation regulations associated with cleanup projects.
- Training in vapor intrusion testing and mitigation.
- Training in site surveying, mapping, blueprint reading, computer-aided design and drafting (CADD), and geographic information systems (GIS).
- Training in release detection methods, techniques, and practices at underground storage tank (UST) facilities where hazardous substances and/or petroleum products are or were located, in order to assess whether the tanks have leaked or may be leaking. This includes training for jobs that conduct activities such as tank or piping tightness testing; testing of spill prevention equipment and containment sumps; inspections of overfill prevention equipment; testing of release detection equipment; and walkthrough inspections.
- On-the-job training insurance for trainees. Mentorship associated with on-the-job training, such as peer mentors where an experienced employee is paired with a new trainee.
- Costs associated with health exams (e.g., pulmonary function tests), drug testing, or licensing fees directly related to the training and/or the placement of graduates in environmental work. • Costs used to cover rental fees associated with training facilities or minor alteration of existing facilities. (Construction costs are not allowable.)
- Costs associated with eligible participant support costs, including for:
- Transportation for trainees for site visits during training or to transport trainees to and from class in the form of stipends or other allowable direct costs (e.g. transportation vouchers or vehicle rental).
- Reasonable stipends to compensate trainees for participating in training. Note that stipends may only be paid for actual time spent in training classes or on-the job training activities and must not duplicate training support provided through other Federal, state, tribal or local programs.
- Reasonable child-care subsidies. Note that child-care subsidies must not duplicate child-care support provided through other Federal, state, tribal or local programs.
Outputs
The term “output” refers to an environmental activity, effort, and/or associated work product related to an environmental goal or objective that will be produced or provided over a period of time or by a specified date. Outputs may be quantitative or qualitative but must be measurable during the project period. The expected outputs for the grants awarded under these guidelines may include but are not limited to:
- Number of individuals recruited, trained, certified, and placed in environmental careers in communities impacted by solid and hazardous waste sites and facilities. Each grant award is anticipated to result in at least 50 individuals completing training, with a minimum job placement rate of 70%. These target numbers are approximations and will vary by recipient depending on the comprehensiveness of a curriculum and where the recipient is located (urban versus rural locations where a larger number of individuals may be more easily recruited than locations where recruitment may be more challenging as a result of smaller populations).
- Number of classroom style trainings, practical trainings, and curricula modules.
- Number of appropriate certifications in environmental sampling and site cleanup methods.
- Number of individuals that receive certifications in OSHA 29 CFR 1910.120 40-hour HAZWOPER training.
Outcomes
The term “outcome” refers to the result, effect, or consequence that will occur from carrying out the activities under the grant. Outcomes may be environmental, behavioral, health-related, or programmatic; must be qualitative or quantitative; and may not necessarily be achievable during the project period. EPA anticipates the outcomes from the projects awarded under this announcement may be an increase in the capacity of governmental entities and nonprofit organizations to:
- Help residents of communities take advantage of jobs created by the assessment and cleanup of brownfields and the assessment, cleanup, and management of solid and hazardous waste sites and facilities while addressing environmental justice concerns.
- Provide training that leads to sustainable employment in the environmental field.
- Improve community involvement in environmental projects and stimulate the development of constructive partnerships.
- Reduce exposures to hazardous substances and other contaminants and improve the health of workers, occupants, and residents.
- Foster self-sufficiency and enhance the skills and availability of labor for environmental remediation in environmental justice and other communities impacted by environmental contamination.
- Enable residents to participate in the promotion of environmental health and occupational safety, both on the job and in their communities.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $12,000,000
- Award Ceiling: $500,000
Project Period
The project period for Brownfields Job Training Grants is five (5) years.
Eligibility Criteria
In accordance with Assistance Listing (CFDA) 66.815, the following entities are eligible to apply for a Brownfields Job Training Grant:
- General Purpose Unit of Local Government (EPA uses the definition of Local government)
- Land Clearance Authority or other quasi-governmental entity that operates under the supervision and control of, or as an agent of, a general purpose unit of local government.
- Government entity created by State Legislature.
- Regional Council or group of General Purpose Units of Local Government.
- Redevelopment Agency that is chartered or otherwise sanctioned by a State.
- State.
- Indian Tribe other than in Alaska. (The exclusion of Alaskan Tribes in Alaska, with the exception of the Metlakatla Indian Community as noted below, from grant eligibility is statutory at CERCLA §104(k)(1)). Intertribal Consortia are eligible for funding in accordance with EPA’s policy for funding intertribal consortia published in the Federal Register.
- Alaskan Native Regional Corporation, Alaska Native Village Corporation, and the Metlakatla Indian Community. (Alaskan Native Regional Corporation and Alaska Native Village Corporation as those terms are defined in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 and following).)
- Nonprofit organizations. For purposes of this grant program, consistent with the definition of Nonprofit organization in 2 CFR 200.1 the term “nonprofit organization” means any corporation, trust, association, cooperative, or other organization that is operated mainly for scientific, educational, service, charitable, or similar purpose in the public interest; is not organized primarily for profit; and uses net proceeds to maintain, improve, or expand the operation of the organization. Eligible nonprofit organizations may, but are not required to be, exempt from taxation under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code. Workforce Investment Boards and organized Labor Unions that meet these criteria may be eligible nonprofit organizations. Public and nonprofit private institutions of higher education (including community colleges and similar 2-year institutions) are eligible to apply. However, nonprofit organizations described in Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engage in lobbying activities as defined in Section 3 of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 are not eligible to apply.
- For-profit or proprietary training organizations or trade schools are not eligible to apply.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
