Workforce Development Board receives $500K for environmental-job training

UTICA, N.Y. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $500,000 to the Workforce Development Board of Herkimer, Madison and Oneida Counties for environmental-job training programs. 

The agency awarded grants totaling $7 million to 14 organizations across the country through its Brownfields Jobs Training Program to help recruit, train, and place workers for community revitalization and cleanup projects across brownfield sites.

“EPA is thrilled to award this grant to the Workforce Development Board of Herkimer, Madison and Oneida Counties and its partners to help train and prepare the next wave of local workers for opportunities in the brownfields sector,” EPA Region 2 Administrator Lisa F. Garcia said in a press release announcing the grant. “Through the cleanup and revitalization of brownfield sites, communities can put underutilized properties back to good use. Reclaiming these sites benefits the community and its residents, our economy, and our environment.”

The initiative aims to provide specialized environmental-job training for 100 students with the goal of placing 90 graduates in relevant roles. The training includes 189 hours of instruction. Students who successfully complete the training can earn up to four state and two federal certifications in areas including lead and asbestos abatement, hazardous waste operations and emergency response, mold remediation, and environmental sampling and analysis.

The Workforce Development Board of Herkimer, Madison, and Oneida Counties is specifically targeting students within the city of Utica with a focus on underrepresented and historically marginalized populations to provide them with an opportunity to gain skills and improve their employment prospects.

Key partners in the initiative include Oneida County Workforce Development, Mohawk Valley Community College, Rochester Specialty Contractors, Ambient Environmental, Indium Corporation, Central New York Labor Council, Oneida County Health Department, Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority, Midtown Utica Community Center, Mohawk Valley Latino Center, NAACP, and Hope Chapel AME Zion Church.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests more than $1.5 billion through the EPA’s Brownfields Program. Since 1998, the EPA has awarded 414 grants totaling over $100.5 million through brownfield job training programs, helping more than 21,500 people complete training and over 16,370 individuals begin careers related to land remediation and environmental health and safety with an average starting wage above $15 an hour.