December 21, 2022

City of Tacoma

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency selected the city of Tacoma to receive a total of $1 million in grants for environmental job training programs funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The funding is among 29 new grants awarded nationally through EPA's Brownfields Job Training Program to recruit, train and place workers for community revitalization and cleanup projects at Brownfield sites. EPA's $500,000 Brownfields Job Training grant will support the city of Tacoma's Local Employment and Apprenticeship Training Program, known as LEAP. With this new round of funding, LEAP will train 140 students and place at least 79 in local environmental jobs. Graduates of LEAP will receive 260 hours of instruction in HAZWOPER, flagger and forklift operator, asbestos and lead paint safety, and up to seven certifications. Partners include Child Care Resources of Pierce County, Clean Harbors, Clover Park Technical College, Conoco Concrete Plumbing, Department of Agriculture, Goodwill of the Olympics and Rainier Region, NOW Environmental, Scot Eckley Landscape and Design, TCB Industrial, Walker Specialty Construction, Washington Brownfields Coalition, Workforce Central and Worksource Pierce. Since 1998, the EPA has awarded 371 Brownfields Job Training grants. With these grants, more than 20,341 individuals have completed trainings and over 15,168 individuals have been placed in careers related to land remediation and environmental health and safety.