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Brownfields 2026 Job Training Fact Sheet

Richmond, CA

EPA Information

Region: EPA Region 9 Brownfields Team
Phone: 415-972-3774
Website: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/r9

Publication Information

Office:
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Land and Emergency Management (5105T)
Washington, D.C. 20460
Publication Number:
EPA 560-F-26-010
Publication Date:
February 2026

Job Training Grant

$500,000.00

EPA has selected the City of Richmond for a Brownfields Job Training Grant. The City of Richmond plans to train 125 students and place 113 in environmental jobs. The training program includes 294 hours of instructional training, as detailed in the chart below. Students who complete the training will earn up to two state and six federal certifications. The City of Richmond is targeting youth, ranging in age from 18 to 24 years old who are disconnected from school/work, veterans, formerly incarcerated individuals, single custodial parents, low-income families, and residents who live near freeways and contaminated sites within the City of Richmond. Key partners include Overaa Construction, IQ Personnel Environmental Staffing, Pogo Park, the Port of Richmond, NorCal Carpenters Union, the Richmond Housing Authority, the Construction Trades Workforce Initiative, Community-Based Organizations, and LEAP and Adult Education Programs.

For further information, including specific grant contacts, additional grant information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields Web site (http://www.epa.gov/brownfields).

Grant Recipient Information

Name: City of Richmond
Address: Richmond, CA
Contact: Tamara Walker, twalker@richmondworks.org, (510) 307-8006
Website: https://ci.richmond.ca.us/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/City-of-Richmond-CA-Local-Government-100064656225258/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cityofrichmondca/?hl=en
Twitter: https://x.com/cityofrichmond?lang=en
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/kcrttv
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/city-of-richmond-california
Certificates & Technical Curriculum Supported by EPA
  • 40-Hour HAZWOPER
  • OSHA-30 Construction Safety
  • Confined Space
  • Lead Abatement/RRP
  • Asbestos Abatement Worker
  • Mold Remediation
  • CPR/First Aid
  • Traffic Control and Flagging
  • RichmondBUILD Pre-Apprenticeship
Other Curriculum
Additional Skills and Services
  • Job-Readiness Skills
  • GED Assistance

Overview of the EPA Brownfields Program

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, Tribal Nations, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. The Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act of 2002, as amended by the Brownfields Utilization, Investment and Local Development Act of 2018, was passed to help states, Tribal Nations, and communities around the country clean up and revitalize brownfield sites. Under this law, EPA provides financial assistance to eligible applicants through five competitive grant programs: Multipurpose Grants, Assessment Grants, Revolving Loan Fund Grants, Cleanup Grants, and Brownfields Job Training Grants. Additionally, funding support is provided to state and tribal response programs through a separate mechanism.

Brownfields Job Training Grant funds are provided to nonprofit organizations and other eligible entities to recruit and train unemployed and underemployed residents from communities affected by environmental pollution, economic disinvestment, and brownfields and place them in environmental jobs. Since the program was created in 1998, EPA has awarded 456 job training grants totaling over $119.8 million through Brownfield Job Training Programs. To date, excluding pilot program years, approximately 22,400 individuals completed training, and over 16,600 individuals have been placed in careers related to land remediation and environmental health and safety. This equates to a cumulative placement rate of 74 percent. The average starting wage for these jobs over the last five years is approximately $23 an hour.


The information presented in this fact sheet comes from the grant application; EPA cannot attest to the accuracy of the information. The cooperative agreement is negotiated after the selection announcement. Therefore, the funding amount and activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Please email comments on this website to: Brownfields-Web-Comments@epamail.epa.gov