Fy26 Brownfields Job Training (JT) Grants

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), through its Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization, is offering the FY26 Brownfields Job Training (JT) Grants under opportunity number EPA-I-OLEM-OBLR-25-01. These grants are intended to support environmental job training programs that recruit, train, and place unemployed and under-employed residents in communities impacted by brownfields. These programs equip residents with skills necessary to secure full-time employment in environmental fields, especially in activities related to the assessment, cleanup, and remediation of contaminated properties. The goal of the Brownfields Job Training Grants is to promote sustainable community revitalization by fostering a local workforce capable of performing essential environmental work. The program is aimed at ensuring historically underserved communities—particularly those affected by economic disinvestment, environmental degradation, and health disparities—benefit from redevelopment initiatives. Eligible activities include training in environmental site assessment, hazardous waste operations and emergency response (OSHA 40-hour HAZWOPER), chemical safety, green infrastructure, lead and asbestos abatement, and stormwater management, among others. Notably, all trainees must be U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents and 18 years or older at graduation. The grant program will make available between $10 million and $14 million in total funding, supporting up to 20 awards with a maximum individual award of $500,000 per recipient over a project period not to exceed five years. EPA emphasizes that no cost-sharing or matching funds are required or accepted. The program does not support general construction or life-skills training, and funding must be used for direct programmatic costs such as instruction, case management, job placement, training materials, and eligible participant support costs like transportation, childcare, and stipends. Eligible applicants include a broad range of entities such as local and state governments, tribal governments and consortia, regional councils, redevelopment agencies, and nonprofit organizations, including educational institutions. For-profit entities and certain 501(c)(4) organizations engaged in lobbying are excluded. Applications must demonstrate that proposed training activities do not duplicate other federally funded environmental job training programs in the target community. A mandatory OSHA 40-hour HAZWOPER training must be included for all participants. Coalitions are allowed with one lead applicant and clearly defined roles for non-lead members through a Memorandum of Agreement. Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov by 11:59 PM ET on September 26, 2025. A national outreach webinar is planned for July 2025, and applicants are expected to be notified of their selection in December 2025. Award notifications are anticipated in April 2026. Applicants must adhere strictly to submission formatting requirements, including a 14-page narrative, 3-page narrative information sheet, and a 15-page limit for narrative attachments. Required documentation includes eligibility statements, training curriculum charts, and financial records if applicable. Evaluation criteria include community need (40 points), training program design (25 points), budget and resource allocation (15 points), anticipated outputs and outcomes (50 points), partnerships (40 points), leveraging (5 points), and programmatic capability (25 points). Applicants are encouraged to include partnership letters and evidence of leveraged resources to strengthen their applications. Technical assistance is available via national and regional EPA contacts, with contact information listed in the NOFO. Questions related to electronic submissions should be directed to Grants.gov.

EPA advises early submission and strict adherence to page limits and formatting