Groundwork Rhode Island receives $500,000 Brownfields Job Training Grant
BOSTON (Dec.17, 2024) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced 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. The Brownfields Job Training Program grants are funded by President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will advance economic opportunity and environmental justice.
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.
Key partners include the City of Providence Department of Public Works, Ground Flora, Open Doors, Progreso Latino, the Providence Neighborhood Planting Program, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, the Stormwater Innovation Center, and Zero Waste Providence.
"Brownfields Job Training grants change lives and improve communities that have been overburdened by contaminated properties for far too long," said EPA New England Regional Administrator David Cash. "Thanks to President Biden's Investing in America agenda, EPA is helping to create good-paying jobs for low income, unemployed, and under-employed residents who are helping make their communities cleaner, healthier and stronger."
"Groundwork Rhode Island's job training program will put Rhode Islanders to work revitalizing contaminated properties and rejuvenating communities by restoring brownfield sites to productive use. Not only will this wise federal investment help protect the health and well-being of residents and our environment, but it will also create green jobs, increase quality of life, and strengthen our local economy," said U.S, Senator Jack Reed, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
"The EPA's Brownfields program is breathing new life into Rhode Island neighborhoods," said U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. "This federal funding from our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will support job training for a new generation of environmental stewards who will be equipped with the skills to help revive polluted areas across the state."
"Clean-up grants can help revitalize neighborhoods and create jobs that benefit the environment and public health," said U.S. Representative Seth Magaziner. "This federal funding will put Rhode Islanders to work and transform polluted sites into community assets for generations to come."
"Brownfields remediation helps transform polluted lots in Rhode Island into spaces where our residents can thrive and prosper," said U.S. Representative Gabe Amo. "This federal funding to help recruit, train, and place workers on critical projects will help accelerate the cleanup efforts while expanding job opportunities. I'm proud that this grant is just the latest example of how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is helping bring together federal, state, and local stakeholders to improve economic justice in communities across our state."
"Through this grant we have been able to give community members an opportunity to gain skills and empower them to take on challenges that have plagued their community and loved ones for generations," said GroundWork Rhode Island's Stephanie Moniz. "They come out of the program feeling a sense of agency, they can advocate for themselves in a rapidly changing job market and take pride they are a part of the solution."
EPA's Brownfields Job Training Program provides 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 are from historically underserved neighborhoods or reside in the areas that are affected by environmental justice issues. All of the FY25 Brownfields Job Training Program applications selected have proposed to work in areas that include disadvantaged communities as defined by the Climate & Economic Justice Screening Tool, delivering on President Biden's Justice40 Initiative to deliver 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
Individuals typically graduate from the program with a variety of certifications that improve their marketability and help ensure that employment opportunities are not just temporary contractual work, but long-term environmental careers. This includes certifications in:
- Lead and asbestos abatement;
- Hazardous waste operations and emergency response;
- Mold remediation;
- Environmental sampling and analysis; and
- Other environmental health and safety training.
For more information on the selected Brownfields Job Training Grant recipients, including past grant recipients, please visit EPA's Grant Factsheet Tool.
Background
President Biden's leadership and bipartisan congressional action delivered the single-largest investment in U.S. brownfields infrastructure ever. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) invests more than $1.5 billion through EPA's highly successful Brownfields Program and the funding from this grant cycle comes from this historic investment. This budget boost gives EPA the ability to fund more communities, states, and Tribal Nations. In addition, these entities can apply for larger grants to build and enhance their environmental job training curriculums to support job creation and community revitalization around brownfield sites. Ultimately, this investment will help trained individuals gain access to jobs created through brownfields revitalization activities within their communities.
Since 1998, EPA has awarded 430 grants totaling more than $113 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 5 years, the average starting wage for these individuals is 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 to EPA at https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/forms/brownfields-job-training-program-technical-assistance-inquiry-form.
For more information on this and other types of Brownfields Grants, please visit https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/types-funding.