U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeks proposals to deliver Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) programs that recruit, train, and place local, unemployed and under-employed residents with the skills needed to secure full-time employment in the environmental field. Through linking to on-the-ground assessment and cleanup activities, EWDJT grants train unemployed and under-employed residents of communities impacted by a variety of waste facilities, blighted properties, contaminated sites, and other environmental issues, for environmental jobs that contractors may otherwise fill from outside the affected community. EWDJT Grants help residents take advantage of the jobs created by the management, assessment, cleanup, and revitalization of solid and hazardous waste sites, as well as other environmental projects in their communities, such as water quality improvement, chemical risk management, and pesticide management efforts. Applicants must target dislocated workers, or those laid off as a result of recent manufacturing plant closures, severely under-employed individuals, or unemployed individuals, including low-income and minority residents of waste-impacted communities, veterans, and those with little to no advanced education. Applicants must identify the target area that they intend to serve. A target area can be any continuous area (e.g., county, city, neighborhood, etc.) that has been impacted by the presence of brownfields.

In addition to brownfields hazardous waste training, which includes sustainability and equitable development, applicants may choose to deliver a variety of environmental training, allowing the applicant to tailor the curriculum of their program to the labor market needs of their targeted community. Applicants may include training related to one, multiple, or none of the training areas described below:

• Solid waste management or cleanup training, such as integrated solid waste management, including, but not limited to household and industrial recycling management and operations; collection; operators of material recovery facility and/or recycling centers; electronics and household hazardous waste collection and recycling program operators; construction and demolition debris collection and recycling management; recycling center operators; training associated with solid and hazardous waste facility corrective action, landfill closures and capping activities; and waste minimization efforts.
• Superfund site cleanup and innovative and alternative treatment technologies training, “green remediation” technologies, such as phytoremediation, bioremediation, or soil amendments; advanced sampling instrument operator training; or training in the reuse of biosolids and other industry residuals.
• Wastewater treatment training, such as wastewater treatment facility operations (treatment, collection, storage, and disposal) training, decentralized wastewater treatment systems maintenance, or other related wastewater management topics.
• Emergency planning, preparedness, and response training, such as training for conducting hazards analysis on the chemical facility risks in the community; developing local emergency response plans; organizing and implementing exercises; outreach to the public; spill response and cleanup, including industrial and environmental (e.g., oil spills, natural disasters, etc.); first responder, disaster site worker certification, and National Incident Management System (NIMS) training.
• Enhanced environmental health and safety training, such as promoting chemical (substance, mixture, or article) safety awareness and stewardship; safe work practices (including an overview of the content of material safety datasheets (MSDS), information on exposure guideline limits (Occupational Exposure Limits and Recommended Exposure Limits), information contained within the NIOSH pocket guide to chemical hazards, or the OSHA/EPA Occupational Chemical Database); chemical inventories; inspection and proper chemical storage; engineering controls, such as well-designed ventilation to promote air exchange; use of correct personal protective equipment, including respiratory protection, gloves, goggles, or coveralls; isolation of work areas; safe storage and handling of chemicals; promoting sanitation and hygiene; prevention of spills; universal hazard communication; green chemistry; medical waste handling and disposal; and training in an overview of any existing chemical-specific worker training and certification programs, including but not limited to: lead abatement; lead renovation, repair, and painting (RRP); asbestos; diisocyanates (auto-refinishing and spray polyurethane foam); pesticide worker protection standards; PFCs; PBDEs/HBCD; and others.
• Integrated pest management (IPM) training for public housing and project-based rental assistance properties, including training in pesticide prevention and the safe application of pesticides.
• Alternative energy technologies, such as training in the installation of solar, wind, or geothermal power systems or alternative fuels (e.g., biofuels), including preparing sites for renewable energy installation.

Through the EWDJT Program, graduates develop additional skill sets that improve their ability to secure full-time, sustainable employment in various aspects of hazardous and solid waste management and within the larger environmental field, including sustainable cleanup and reuse, water quality improvement, chemical safety, and pesticide management.

Amount: Approximately $3,000,000 is available for 15-16 awards of up to $200,000 each.

Eligibility: General purpose units 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; Alaskan Native Regional Corporation, Alaska Native Village Corporation and the Metlakatla Indian Community; and nonprofit organizations including public and nonprofit private educational institutions, workforce investment boards, and labor unions that are operated mainly for scientific, educational, service, charitable, or similar purpose in the public interest; are not organized primarily for profit; and use net proceeds to maintain, improve, or expand the operation of the organization.

Link: https://www.epa.gov/grants/fy-2018-environmental-workforce-development-and-job-training-ewdjt-grants

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