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St. Louis Community College Selected to Receive $199,994 Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grant

(Contact Information: Belinda Young, 913-551-7463, young.belinda@epa.gov)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Lenexa, Kan., June 13, 2013) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7 today announced that St. Louis Community College (SLCC) has been selected to receive $199,994 to train unemployed and underemployed residents of St. Louis in hazardous waste cleanup.

Residents who are unemployed, receive public assistance, or are low-income employed and living within the St. Louis metropolitan area, including the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County in Missouri, and East St. Louis and surrounding counties in Illinois, will be recruited for this training program.

Through this training program, SLCC plans to graduate 81 students, place 55 graduates in environmental jobs, and track graduates for one year.

The core training program includes 222 hours of instruction, including coursework in 40-hour HAZWOPER, introduction to environmental technology, OSHA courses in 10-hour safety, chemical hazards, blood borne pathogens, fall protection, excavation and trenching, and permit-required confined spaces; radiation worker I; lead and asbestos abatement worker; mold remediation; lead renovator, repair, and painting; underground storage tanks; environmental sampling and monitoring; innovative/alternative treatment technologies; storm water management; and ecosystem restoration.

A total of 12 state and federal certifications will be offered through this training.  Key partners in the project include St. Louis University’s College of Public Health and Social Justice Center for Environmental Education and Training, St. Louis Development Corporation, Father’s Support Center, St. Patrick’s Center, St. Louis City Workforce Investment Board, YouthBuild St. Louis, Operation Excel, and the Carpenters District Council of Greater St. Louis.

Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training grant funds are provided to nonprofit organizations and other eligible entities to recruit, train, and place predominantly low-income and minority, unemployed and underemployed residents from solid and hazardous waste-impacted communities. Residents learn the skills needed to secure full-time, sustainable employment in the environmental field, including a focus on assessment and cleanup activities.

Since 1998, EPA has funded 206 job training grants totaling over $45 million through the Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grants Program. As of March 2013, approximately 11,473 individuals have completed training, of which approximately 8,198 have obtained employment in the environmental field with an average starting hourly wage of $14.12. This equates to a cumulative placement rate of approximately 71 percent since the program was created.