Lowell Youth Participate in Summer Job Program and Learn Environmental Skills

News Release
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
New England Regional Office
August 14, 2012

Contact: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

Lowell Youth Participate in Summer Job Program and Learn Environmental Skills

(Boston, Mass. – August 14, 2012) – With assistance from EPA, the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) oversees a program at the Lowell, Mass. Regional Wastewater Utility to introduce economically disadvantaged inner city youth to career opportunities in the environmental field in New England.   

Since its inception in 1990, EPA’s Youth and the Environment Program has focused on helping disadvantaged youth to learn environmental job skills that can be applied as they enter the workforce.  The program, which has been taking place for 21 out of the past 23 summers, promotes environmental education and provides high school students with increased awareness of protecting the environment and water quality within their own communities.

“EPA’s Youth and Environment Program is an important way to promote the importance of water quality and environmental protection to future generations, by having water and wastewater professionals help educate and interact with interested high school students in the community,” noted Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office.  “EPA has been fortunate to work with NEIWPCC, the Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility, and the Career Center of Lowell to have summer job programs related to protecting our environment targeting economically disadvantaged youth.”

At the Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility this summer, five local high school students work at several “stations” (e.g. laboratory, pretreatment, maintenance, process control, etc.) on a rotational basis so that they are exposed to some of the many facets involved with the proper operation of a wastewater treatment plant on an everyday basis.  The program has provided the students with an understanding of chemical risks, public health threats, and proper safety procedures for worker safety at a wastewater treatment plant and out in the collection system.  Students have become familiar with potential hazards as they relate to environmental management, treatment and pumping, and water quality monitoring.  The students also participated in field trips related to science and water quality, along with college career counseling.  The efforts of Mark Young, Executive Director of the Lowell Regional Wastewater Utility and his entire staff, Mayor Patrick Murphy, City Manager Bernie Lynch, and the staff at the Lowell Career Center have been unwavering as they continue to devote a significant amount of time and effort to work with these students and support this valuable program.

A ceremony recognizing the efforts of these students and their mentors will be held at the Lowell City Hall (Mayor’s Conference Room) on August 15, 2012 at 9:00 AM.

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$181,638 Grant to St. Louis Community College, St. Louis, Mo., for Drinking Water Job Training

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7

901 N. Fifth St., Kansas City, KS 66101

Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations

$181,638 Grant to St. Louis Community College, St. Louis, Mo., for Drinking Water Job Training 

Contact Information: Kris Lancaster, (913) 551-7557, lancaster.kris@epa.gov (news media only)

Environmental News 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., July 11, 2012) - EPA has awarded $181,638 to St. Louis Community College (STLCC), St. Louis, Mo., for drinking water job training.

EPA Region 7 Administrator Karl Brooks said, “From EPA’s standpoint, it is essential that we groom talented and committed young people into drinking water fields in order to meet the need and shortage of experts in this important industry. The certification training is essential to successful job placement in this field.”

The training meets requirements set by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources for drinking water treatment certification. The core curriculum focuses on the skills necessary for entry-level jobs at drinking water facilities. It includes sessions on water quality monitoring, green infrastructure, operations, maintenance, mathematics, and drinking water regulations.

EPA oversees the protection of water quality and public health. The responsibility for ensuring safe drinking water is shared by EPA, states, tribes, water systems, and the public.

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EPA Awards $200,000 for Environmental Job Training Grant in Hartford, Conn.

News Release
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
New England Regional Office
July 2, 2012

Contact:  David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

EPA Awards $200,000 for Environmental Job Training Grant in Hartford, Conn.

(Boston, Mass. – July 2, 2012) – A $200,000 EPA grant will assist North Star Center for Human Development, Inc. in Connecticut to train 60 students, and place at least 54 graduates in environmental jobs. The grant is available through EPA’s Brownfields “Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training” program.

North Star will use the EPA funding to recruit, train and place local unemployed and underemployed residents from Hartford’s historically disadvantaged North End in environmental jobs. These neighborhoods have been plagued with high unemployment, high poverty, and low per-capita income rates. Hartford is one of the poorest cities in Connecticut with per capita income of less than $17,000.


The training program will offer courses in green and renewable energy, brownfields remediation technology, OSHA HAZWOPER, wastewater and storm water treatment technology and sustainable urban agriculture.  The comprehensive program will train 60 students, and place at least 54 graduates in environmental jobs.  The program will also track graduates for two years to ensure program efficacy.


“EPA’s Brownfield Job Training grants can be a real catalyst helping to change peoples’ lives for the better,” said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office. “Our investments to provide people with the skills to earn a good living are also helping to protect the health of the local community by targeting historically disadvantaged neighborhoods where environmental cleanups and jobs are often most needed.”


North Star will target displaced workers, veterans, ex-offenders, and other disadvantaged residents for this job training program.  Participants who complete the core training will earn eight federal worker certifications. North Star was the past recipient of a 2007 Brownfields Job Training Grant and a 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Job Training Grant.  North Star has developed a system that delivers introductory level environmental remediation and green technology job training to students and has effectively placed participants in green jobs that benefit both the students and their community.

“North Star is extremely excited by this opportunity to continue to offer environmental remediation and green technology training to the residents of the City of Hartford, especially those residing in its North End neighborhoods. Presently, we have trained and graduated a total 192 trainees, and we have an 80 percent placement rate in industries including hazardous waste management, spill response, and lead and asbestos abatement contractors,” said Jewel Brown, Executive Director, North Star Center for Human Development, Inc.

Since 1998, EPA has awarded more than $42 million nationally under the Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training program. As of June 2012, approximately 10,300 individuals had completed training and approximately 7,300 obtained employment in the environmental field, with an average starting hourly wage of $14.12. The development of this green workforce will allow the trainees to develop skills that will make them competitive in the construction and redevelopment fields.

Graduates of the program are equipped with skills and certifications in various environmental fields including lead and asbestos abatement, environmental site sampling, construction and demolition debris recycling, underground storage tank removal, ecological restoration, and green building techniques. Graduates use these skills to improve the environment and people’s health while supporting economic development in their communities.

More information: EPA environmental workforce development and job training grants: 


(http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/pilot_grants.htm)

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