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EPA Awards $38,000 to Summer Programs that Train Youth for Environmental Jobs

Release Date: 08/02/2001
Contact Information: Amy Miller, EPA Press Office (617-918-1042)

BOSTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced it has recently awarded more than $38,000 to help fund four summer youth programs in New England that are aimed at training high school students for careers in environmental professions.

The grants, given as part of EPA's Youth and the Environment Program, will help fund programs coordinated by the New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC), the Partnership for Environmental Technology Education, and the Eastern Connecticut Resource Conservation and Development Area , Inc. The projects in New England received more than 40 percent of the $90,000 that was available for this program nationally this year.

The New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission will be awarded $17,000 to oversee projects at two continuing summer programs – the Lowell, Mass., Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility and the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, RI.

The Partnership for Environmental Technology Education will utilize its $15,367 to initiate training programs being planned in several water and wastewater treatment facilities in York County, Maine.

The Eastern Connecticut Resource Conservation and Development Area will use its $6,000 grant to work with the Southwest Boys and Girls Club along the Park River corridor in Hartford, Conn.

"This seed money should help and encourage the development of summer and year round youth training programs exposing students to on-going environmental issues and potential careers in the future. " said Ira Leighton, acting regional administrator of EPA New England.

EPA's Youth and the Environment Program introduces students to the environmental problems of their communities and shows them how technology may help solve these problems. The program focuses on introducing economically disadvantaged school-age students to career opportunities in the environmental field, by combining summer employment with academic training and hands-on experience.

The program shows the effectiveness of giving high school and middle school students exposure and training in water pollution prevention through partnerships between states, municipalities, industry and the federal government. Students are exposed to career possibilities in wastewater treatment, wet weather management (combined sewer overflows and sanitary sewer overflows), water supply, recycling, energy management, hazardous waste management, and natural resource protection. The program also encourages teachers and local officials to get involved in environmental education.