Innovative Water Infrastructure Workforce Development Grant Program

The nation has made significant progress in addressing environmental and public health needs over the past fifty years, but more remains to be done. To further the goal of ensuring a strong pipeline of skilled and diverse workers in the water utilities sector, Congress, under the American Water Infrastructure Act of 2018, authorized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop a grant program under Section 1459E of the Safe Drinking Water Act, to accelerate career pipelines in the water utilities sector and provide access to water utility workforce opportunities. In addition, under Clean Air Act Section 138(b)(2), which was created by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Congress authorized EPA to award grants for workforce development activities that help reduce green-house gas emissions and other air pollutants that benefit disadvantaged communities as defined by the EPA Administrator and we are soliciting projects for this under project area 6 in Section I.C. of this Request for Applications (RFA).

Through this grant program, EPA is soliciting applications from eligible applicants as described in Section III.A of the RFA to assist in the development and utilization of innovative activities relating to workforce development and career opportunities in the water utility sector, which may include:

(A) expanding the use and availability of activities and resources that relate to the recruitment, including the promotion of diversity within that recruitment, of individuals to careers in the drinking water and wastewater utility sector, including stormwater;

(B) expanding the availability of training opportunities for (i) individuals entering the water and wastewater utility sector; and (ii) individuals seeking to advance careers within the water and wastewater utility sector;

(C) expanding the use and availability of activities and strategies, including the development of innovative activities and strategies, that relate to the maintenance and retention of a sustainable workforce in the water and wastewater utility sector; and

(D) expanding the availability of workforce development and training that enables drinking water and wastewater utility workers to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other air pollutants to benefit disadvantaged communities.