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Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Program

Detailed information about this program is below:

Category Information About This Specific Program
Title Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Program (Brownfields- Competitive), Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number 66.815
Purpose The Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Program supports recruitment, training and placement of unemployed and underemployed people, including low-income residents in solid and hazardous waste-impacted communities, with the skills needed to obtain full-time, sustainable employment in solid and hazardous waste cleanup, wastewater treatment, chemical safety, and the environmental field generally. This program promotes the facilitation of activities related to assessment, cleanup or preparation of contaminated sites, including brownfields and Superfund sites, for reuse, while simultaneously building a local workforce with the skills needed to perform remediation work that are supportive of environmental protection and environmental health and safety.
Type of Assistance Grant (Cooperative Agreement)
Eligible Applicants Consortia or Intertribal Consortia, Educational Institutions, Local Governments, Nonprofit Groups (excluding entities with lobbying activities), State/Territorial Agencies, Indian Tribal Governments, Tribal Agencies, Universities
Eligible Activities Develop and implement training programs, including, but not limited to: brownfields hazardous waste training, solid waste management and recycling, emergency management and oil spill cleanup, Superfund cleanup-related training, including innovative and alternative treatment technologies, wastewater treatment and storm water management, integrated pest management, alternative energy technologies, and chemical safety and enhanced environmental health and safety training. All applicants are required to include the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) section 1910.120 40-hour Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) in their curricula. Eligible costs also include screening, health exams, insurance and transportation for trainees participating in the program.
Excluded Activities/Other Restrictions Funds cannot be used to support:
  • Penalties or fines, a federal cost-share requirement, a response cost for which the recipient of the grant or cooperative agreement is potentially liable under section 107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), or the cost of complying with a federal law, with the exception of the costs of laws applicable to cleanup of sites.
  • Administrative costs, including all indirect costs and direct costs for grant administration in excess of five (5) percent of the total amount of EPA grant funding, with the exception of financial and performance reporting costs (which are considered allowable programmatic cost and not subject to the 5% limitation).
  • Programs that duplicate other federally-funded environmental job training projects in the target community.
  • Training in general life skills or general construction skills, extraction, transport or processing of fossil fuels or ores, expansion of a business-related product, or firefighting.
  • Stipends for students, membership fees and refreshments/food, foreign travel, and proposal preparation costs and other costs outlined in 2 CFR in parts 200 and 1500.
  • Site assessments or cleanups without training components and cleanup response activities.
  • Matching other federal funds unless no statutory authority exists.
  • Construction or substantial rehabilitation of buildings or other facilities to house the training.
Pre-Funding Requirements (if applicable) Not applicable
Typical Award Amount (if applicable) Up to $200,000
Total Awarded Fiscal Year 2017 (if applicable) $2,700,000
Match Requirement (if applicable) None
Solicitation Process/Timeline Proposal deadline is usually winter.
Proposal Elements/Scoring Criteria Proposal review information and criteria are determined by the annual grant guidelines.
Contact Information (primary contact and website or other source) Rachel Congdon
Email: congdon.rachel@epa.gov
Phone: (202) 566-1564
CFDA Number 66.815 web page
Website Information about Successful Tribal Applicants/Projects Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (click on the EWDJT tab)
Headquarters Office U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20460