EPA Press Office:

Biden-Harris Administration Announces $1 Million to Recruit and Train Pennsylvania Workers for Community Revitalization and Cleanup Projects as Part of Investing in America Agenda

Latest funding for EPA’s Brownfield Job Training Grants is supported by the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and will boost workforce training in underserved and overburdened communities

Contact Information:
EPA Press Office (press@epa.gov)

WASHINGTON (Dec. 8, 2023) - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the selection of North Side Industrial Development Company and the Housing and Redevelopment Authorities of Cumberland County to receive a total of $1 Million for environmental job training programs as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. The grants through EPA’s Brownfields Jobs Training Program will help recruit, train, and place workers for community revitalization and cleanup projects at brownfield sites across the Commonwealth.

• North Side Industrial Development Company (NSIDC) has been selected to receive $500,000 to train approximately 155 students from within the City of Pittsburgh and place at least 116 in environmental jobs upon completion of the program. The training program includes 108 hours of instruction including 40-hour HAZWOPER, OSHA, green infrastructure, asbestos, and fieldwork training.

• Housing and Redevelopment Authorities of Cumberland County has been selected to receive $500,000 to train at least 57 students from the Carlisle area and provide them with 203 hours of instruction and training. The curriculum will span OSHA, asbestos, confined space entry, site assessments, and field work.

“President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is having a powerful, real-world impact on the ground, creating good-paying jobs and revitalizing communities,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “The President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has supercharged our Brownfields program, enabling EPA to invest in the next generation of environmental workers to take on the much-needed work of cleaning up legacy pollution in communities across America.”

“This grant funding is an investment in our future,” said EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz. “These are real dollars that will be used to benefit not only the job trainees themselves, but the environment as a whole.”

“I applaud the Biden Administration’s one-million-dollar investment in environmental job training programs in Pennsylvania,” said Senator John Fetterman. “These grants will go towards good-paying jobs that will mitigate the effects of pollution and strengthen the environment and economies of Pittsburgh and Carlisle. Our workers, our commonwealth, and our planet are always worthwhile investments.”

"I’m so proud to announce this $500,000 grant for the North Side Industrial Development Company to boost job training in our area! We're talking about real skills here and a path to federal certifications, opening doors to better opportunities for the folks in our area. We’re focusing on uplifting our own, especially those in lower-income, underserved areas like East Hills, Homewood, and the Hill District,” said U.S. Representative Summer Lee. “This is about building a stronger, more resilient community, where education and job opportunities are not just dreams, but realities for everyone no matter where you live or how you grew up.”

"This is great news! We are really looking forward to being a recipient of these EPA Workforce Training funds. These funds are so important to our partner organizations, the diverse businesses, and workers so that they can get the necessary training for the future job opportunities in the Pittsburgh region,” said Juan Garrett, Executive Director, North Side Industrial Development Company.

“The Cumberland County Housing and Redevelopment Authorities are invested in helping our communities, clients and the whole of Cumberland County find ample employment in fields that offer competitive wages and growth opportunities.  We are very grateful to be a partner with the Employment Skills Center in Carlisle, PA.  They are a true asset and have driven this grant forward for our County. Thank you so much to the EPA and our federal representation for ensuring a bright future for careers within the environmental mitigation field!” – Mary Kuna, Executive Director, Housing and Redevelopment Authorities of Cumberland County

These grants will provide 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 and many are from historically underserved neighborhoods or reside in the areas that are affected by environmental justice issues.

Job training and workforce development are an important part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to advance economic opportunities and address environmental justice issues in underserved communities.  All of the FY24 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 which aims to deliver at least 40% of the benefits of certain government investments to underserved and overburdened communities. 

Under the Brownfields Jobs Training Program, individuals typically graduate 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 have delivered the single-largest investment ever made in U.S. brownfields infrastructure. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests more than $1.5 billion through EPA’s highly successful Brownfields Program, which is helping more communities than ever before begin to address the economic, social, and environmental challenges caused by the legacy pollution at brownfield sites. Today’s funding for Brownfields Jobs Training grants comes from this historic investment, which is allowing more communities, states, and Tribes to access larger grants to build and enhance the environmental curriculum in job training programs to support job creation and community revitalization at brownfield sites. Ultimately, this investment will help trained individuals access jobs created through brownfields revitalization activities within their communities.

Since 1998, EPA has announced 414 grants totaling over $100.5 million through Brownfield Job Training Programs. With these grants, more than 21,500 individuals have completed training and over 16,370 individuals have been placed in careers related to land remediation and environmental health and safety. The average starting wage for these individuals is over $15 an hour.  

For more information on this, and other types of Brownfields Grants, please visit EPA’s Brownfields webpage.

###