Biden-Harris Administration Announces $500,000 in a Brownfields Job Training Grant to Eco Ed Impact Corp under Investing in America Agenda

Biden-Harris Administration Announces $500,000 in a Brownfields Job Training Grant to Eco Ed Impact Corp under Investing in America Agenda

December 16, 2024

MIAMI- On December 12, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Eco Ed Impact Corp. 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 in the Miami metro area. The Brownfields Job Training Program grants is funded by President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and will advance economic opportunity and environmental justice.

Eco Ed Impact Corp. plans to train 80 students and place 45 in environmental jobs. The training program includes 148 hours of instructional training. Students who complete the training will earn up to two state and four federal certifications. Eco Ed Impact Corp. is targeting unemployed, underemployed, and economically underserved adults, as well as veterans within Hallandale Beach, West Park, Miami Gardens, and Dania Beach within the Miami Metropolitan Area. Key partners include: Ecosystem Service Staffing, EnSafe Inc., the Family Government Agency, the Friends of the Dania Beach Paul DeMaio Library, the Miami-Dade County Community Emergency Response Team, SCS Engineers, the South Florida Regional Planning Council, State Representative Marie Woodson, and the Sustainable Workforce Alliance.

"We are excited to announce this grant award to Eco Ed Impact Corp, which will be reintroducing the Brownfields Job Training Program to South Florida communities for the first time in 25 years," said acting Administrator of EPA's Southeast Regional Office Jeaneanne Gettle. "This impactful program, which has benefited more than 23,000 people since its inception in 1998, is especially needed in communities that have been historically underserved or overburdened by pollution."

"We make our families safer by working to ensure places near where they live, work, play or learn is not riddled with contamination," said U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25). "I am very proud to have supported The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which delivers the largest investment in tackling legacy pollution in American history, and this grant is a part of that ongoing effort to help our historically underserved communities."

"Eco Ed Impact Corp. is proud to reintroduce the Brownfields Job Training (BJT) program to South Florida for the first time since 1998," said Alexandra Hughes, Founder of Eco Ed Impact Corp. "Through this program, participants will gain certifications that open doors to higher-paying jobs in the growing environmental sector and critical skills to mitigate and respond to climate-related emergencies. By equipping individuals with tools for economic advancement and fostering community resilience, we aim to create lasting impacts that benefit not only participants and their families but also the broader South Florida region."

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 FactsheetTool.

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 have the opportunity to 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.

Learn more about Eco Ed Impact Corp's project.

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