EPA FY 2027 Brownfields Job Training Grants: Up to $300,000 for Environmental Workforce Programs, Deadline September 23, 2026
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will provide up to $300,000 for programs that recruit, train, and place local unemployed and underemployed residents into environmental jobs connected to brownfield cleanup and revitalization.
EPA FY 2027 Brownfields Job Training Grants: Up to $300,000 for Environmental Workforce Programs, Deadline September 23, 2026
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has opened its Fiscal Year 2027 Brownfields Job Training Grant competition for organizations that can prepare local residents for environmental careers tied to brownfield cleanup and redevelopment. The program is designed around a practical chain: identify a community affected by brownfields, recruit unemployed or underemployed residents, provide job-ready training, and help graduates move into full-time environmental work.
This is an organizational grant, not an individual scholarship. EPA expects to make up to 20 cooperative-agreement awards, with total competition funding of approximately $5 million to $6 million and individual awards of up to $300,000. A proposed project may last no longer than three years, and the listing states that no cost sharing or matching requirement applies. Applications are due Wednesday, September 23, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.
The opportunity is a particularly good fit for a local government, community college, workforce board, nonprofit, Tribal entity, or partnership that already understands a contaminated or previously developed area and can show a credible route from training to employment. A general environmental education project is not enough. The proposed curriculum, target area, employer relationships, participant support, and placement plan need to connect to actual brownfield-related workforce demand.
Key Details
| Detail | Confirmed information |
|---|---|
| Opportunity | EPA FY27 Brownfields Job Training (JT) Grants |
| Funding opportunity number | EPA-OLEM-OBLR-26-01 |
| Sponsor | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization |
| Purpose | Recruit, train, and place local unemployed and underemployed residents into environmental jobs |
| Expected funding | $5 million–$6 million nationally, depending on EPA funding levels and the competition |
| Award size | Up to $300,000 per applicant or coalition |
| Expected awards | Up to 20 |
| Project period | Three years or less |
| Cost share | No cost sharing or matching requirement listed |
| Deadline | September 23, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET |
| Application route | Grants.gov, after required SAM.gov and entity registration steps |
| Award form | Cooperative agreement, with substantial EPA involvement |
The figures are ceilings and estimates, not guarantees. EPA may make fewer awards, partially fund an application, or make no awards. A budget should therefore be realistic at the requested amount and should still describe a coherent project if EPA negotiates the final award.
What the Grant Can Support
Brownfields are properties whose reuse or redevelopment may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. The job-training grant is concerned with the workforce needed to assess, clean, manage, and safely redevelop these places. EPA describes possible training areas that include assessment and cleanup of solid and hazardous waste, chemical risk management, stormwater management associated with site cleanup, low-impact development site preparation, green-infrastructure installation, and vulnerability assessment and contamination-mitigation planning.
The training does not have to be limited to one job title. A strong program might combine classroom instruction, safety credentials, technical practice, and employer-connected experience. The relevant test is whether the proposed courses have a direct connection to brownfield inventory, site assessment, remediation, community involvement, or site preparation. EPA maintains a list of eligible and ineligible Brownfield Job Training courses, but the agency says the list is illustrative rather than exhaustive. The actual proposal controls the eligibility decision.
The grant can also support the infrastructure around successful training: recruitment, screening, retention, participant support, employer engagement, and tracking of graduates. Those costs should be tied to the program’s workforce outcomes rather than presented as a general operating request. The goal is not simply to graduate people from a class. It is to help residents obtain sustainable environmental employment that serves the target community.
Who Can Apply
The FY27 guidelines list several eligible applicant categories. They include general-purpose units of local government such as cities, counties, towns, townships, parishes, special districts, school districts, public housing agencies, and councils of governments. Eligible applicants can also include land-clearance authorities or other quasi-governmental entities operating under a local government, state-created government entities, regional councils, states, and redevelopment agencies sanctioned by a state.
Federally recognized Indian Tribes, eligible intertribal consortia, Alaska Native regional or village corporations, and the Metlakatla Indian Community are included under the guideline’s Tribal eligibility rules. Qualified community development entities may apply as well. The notice also lists 501(c)(3) nonprofits, certain nonprofit-owned limited liability companies and limited partnerships, and other nonprofit organizations that satisfy the federal definition. Public and nonprofit private institutions of higher education, including community colleges and similar two-year institutions, are eligible.
Individuals and for-profit organizations are not eligible to receive a Brownfields Job Training Grant. A nonprofit that is not tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) must examine the alternative eligibility rules carefully rather than assume that its charitable mission is sufficient. The NOFO also says a section 501(c)(4) organization may be eligible only if it fits an eligible entity category and demonstrates that it does not lobby the federal government.
A coalition is allowed. One eligible lead entity applies for the group and remains responsible for the cooperative agreement, while eligible non-lead members may receive subawards. A coalition can be useful in a rural area or a large target area where one organization does not control the employers, training facilities, community outreach, and participant support needed for a credible program. Coalition members must be separate legal entities, and the application must explain roles, responsibilities, fund distribution, and the process for carrying out the work.
Project Eligibility and Threshold Tests
Applicant eligibility is only the first screen. EPA’s guidelines identify pass-or-fail threshold criteria that should shape the proposal from the beginning.
First, the request may not exceed $300,000 and the project period may not exceed three years. An application outside either limit is ineligible. Second, an applicant that received an FY26 Brownfields Job Training Grant cannot apply in this FY27 competition, even for another city or target area. Applicants with older Brownfields Job Training funding may be eligible, subject to the notice’s conditions. Organizations with an open award must also meet EPA’s drawdown threshold before applying.
The target area must be more than a map with a brownfield pin. The applicant needs to connect a brownfield-impacted area with unemployed or underemployed residents and with labor-market demand for the proposed environmental skills. The proposal should make clear why this community needs the program now, which employers or contractors could hire graduates, and how the curriculum reflects those opportunities.
The program also requires HAZWOPER training. The exact course design and threshold response belong to the current NOFO, so applicants should read the guideline language rather than rely on an older Brownfields competition. The project must not duplicate other federally funded environmental job-training activities. Finally, an applicant may submit only one application under this opportunity. A coalition member cannot simultaneously appear in another FY27 coalition application or apply separately as an individual applicant.
What to Prepare for the Application
The EPA notice includes a submission checklist and separates threshold responses from the scored narrative criteria. Begin with the administrative pieces: confirm the organization’s legal eligibility, verify the Unique Entity Identifier, review SAM.gov registration, and make sure the Grants.gov account and Authorized Organization Representative are ready. Registration problems are a poor reason to lose an otherwise strong proposal, and federal registrations can take time to correct.
The narrative should address community need, the training program, budget, program structure, anticipated outputs and outcomes, partnerships, leveraging, and programmatic capability. Assemble evidence rather than making broad claims. Useful evidence may include local unemployment or underemployment data, brownfield or cleanup information, a labor-market assessment, employer conversations, participant recruitment data, and documented barriers such as transportation, childcare, language access, or the cost of required credentials.
If applying as a coalition, obtain signed participation letters and develop the required coalition agreement or memorandum of agreement. The agreement should identify the lead, each member’s responsibilities, the way funds will move, and who will handle reporting and participant data. Ask training providers and employers for letters that explain specific commitments. A letter saying a partner “supports the project” is less useful than a letter describing interview opportunities, curriculum input, equipment access, internships, or likely hiring needs.
Build a budget that shows how the award produces placements. Separate instructional costs, safety and credential costs, participant supports, recruitment, staff time, evaluation, and administration. Explain why each line is necessary. Do not promise a number of graduates or jobs without a recruitment pipeline, attendance plan, employer engagement strategy, and method for verifying outcomes.
A Practical Timeline to September 23
Use the remaining application window to make decisions in the right order.
- Confirm the applicant or lead coalition member’s eligibility and check whether any prior or open EPA Brownfields Job Training award creates a threshold problem.
- Define one target area and collect evidence about brownfield impacts, residents who need employment, and employers seeking the proposed skills.
- Ask employers, workforce agencies, community organizations, and training providers for concrete commitments.
- Design the curriculum around eligible brownfield-related work and include the required HAZWOPER component.
- Decide whether a coalition is necessary. If it is, settle the lead, membership, roles, and agreement before writing the final narrative.
- Draft the community-need, training, outcomes, partnerships, and capability sections together so that the same numbers and responsibilities appear throughout.
- Reconcile the budget with the work plan, check the $300,000 and three-year limits, and conduct an internal threshold review.
- Submit through Grants.gov before the 11:59 p.m. ET deadline, leaving time for validation errors and an Authorized Organization Representative’s final certification.
EPA lists December 2026 as the anticipated notification of selection and May 2027 as the anticipated award notification. Those are planning estimates, not promises of a decision date. A selected recipient should expect substantial EPA involvement because this is a cooperative agreement, including performance monitoring, collaboration during the work, review of proposed procurement, approval of key-personnel qualifications, and review and comment on reports.
What Reviewers Need to Believe
The best application will make the program feel locally necessary and operationally believable. Reviewers need to see a direct line from the target area to the participants, from the participants to the curriculum, and from the curriculum to employers. A proposal that describes environmental work in national terms but never names a local hiring pathway will be weaker than a narrower plan supported by actual employers and community partners.
Evidence quality matters. Use recent local data, identify its source, and explain what it means for recruitment or placement. Distinguish a confirmed employer commitment from a future aspiration. If the project depends on a training provider, show that the provider has the instructors, facilities, safety capacity, and schedule needed. If the target population faces barriers to attendance, put the response in the work plan and budget rather than treating it as an afterthought.
Reviewers will also look for administrative competence. The organization should show that it can manage federal funds, coordinate partners, track participation, and report outcomes. A coalition should not read like a list of logos. Each member should have a job that improves recruitment, training, support, or placement. The narrative, budget, letters, and outcomes should all describe the same project.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
The most serious mistakes are threshold failures. Requesting more than $300,000, proposing more than three years, submitting multiple applications, or including an ineligible coalition member can stop the application before its merits are reviewed. Treat the threshold attachment as a compliance document, not a formality.
Another common problem is a training plan that is environmentally interesting but not brownfield-connected. General construction, generic workforce readiness, or unrelated green jobs should not be included unless the current EPA guidance clearly connects the course to eligible brownfield activity. The same caution applies to outcomes: a plan to train residents is incomplete without a credible plan to place and track them.
Do not wait until the last week to ask for partner letters or resolve SAM.gov and Grants.gov issues. Do not copy an older EPA application without checking the FY27 changes. The current NOFO, its FAQs, and the official EPA course guidance are the controlling sources. Finally, remember that EPA cannot review a private draft for an applicant or advise an organization on how to answer its scored narrative; use the published materials and the listed regional contacts for eligibility questions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this funding for individual workers?
No. Eligible organizations apply to operate a training and placement program. Residents benefit as participants, but they do not apply directly for the grant.
Does the project need a local government as a partner?
Not necessarily. The eligible-applicant list includes nonprofits, higher-education institutions, Tribal entities, governments, and other qualified organizations. A local partnership may still strengthen the target-area evidence and placement plan.
Is matching money required?
The Grants.gov listing states that there is no cost-sharing or matching requirement. Applicants should still explain other resources and partnerships where they improve delivery, but do not describe voluntary leverage as a required match.
Can a community college apply?
Yes. Public and nonprofit private institutions of higher education, including community colleges and similar two-year institutions, are listed as eligible. The proposal must still meet every program and target-area requirement.
How much can one applicant request?
Up to $300,000, for a project period of three years or less. EPA expects awards to fall within that ceiling and may make fewer or smaller awards.
Where should questions go?
The EPA page lists Emily Eisenhauer as the technical contact at [email protected] and provides regional eligibility contacts. Grants.gov support is available for submission-system problems. Start with the official FY27 Brownfields Job Training page, read the full NOFO, and use the Grants.gov opportunity listing to confirm the current submission route.
Official Links and Next Steps
The opportunity is open as of this page’s August 11, 2026 source check. A qualified organization should not begin by polishing generic prose. First confirm eligibility, select a defensible target area, and call the people who can validate the training-to-employment pathway. Then build the narrative and budget around evidence those partners provide.
The deadline is September 23, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET. Because the award is competitive and the NOFO includes several pass-or-fail requirements, submit a complete application early enough to correct a Grants.gov validation error. Keep a copy of the final package, the submission receipt, and all partner commitments. If the program is a fit, the preparation work itself should leave the organization with a clearer workforce strategy for brownfield cleanup and community redevelopment, whether or not EPA selects the proposal.