ENVIRONMENTAL  JUSTICE
                                                                              EJ in New England
                                                    GREEN JOBS
    Environmental Justice
    Green  Development  Pilot Projects
      U.S.  EPA  |  ENVIRONMENTAL  JUSTICE  AT EPA  NEW  ENGLAND
EPA    NEW    ENGLAND'S   ENVIRONMENTAL
JUSTICE  PROGRAM   works to protect all people, regardless
of race, color,  national origin  or  income, from environmental harms and
risks,  and to involve  all citizens  in making  decisions that affect their
environment.  The program is designed to achieve environmental and public
health  improvements for communities  disproportionately  burdened  by  the
impacts of pollution.
INTRO:
In response to the economic crisis and double-digit unemployment rate in New England, EPA New England has been
working to develop strategies that will help grow the green economy, while focusing on promoting green jobs. Working
within the confines of EPA's mission-related regional goals and responsibilities, EPA New England has identified several
areas where we can make a difference in promoting green jobs while specifically targeting under-resourced and
under-served communities that have historically suffered a disproportionate share of negative environmental impacts.
EPA New England's goal is to develop activities and approaches that can be modeled throughout the agency.
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PILOT  PROJECTS:
Supporting the Drinking Water
Operators Placement Partnership
New England Water Works Association, in partnership
with the CT Section of American Water Works Asso-
ciation and MA Water Works Association, is developing
internship programs addressing the aging workforce and
pending shortage of future water operations professionals.
These efforts are intended to provide six to ten internships
in the drinking water sector for students in the Connecti-
cut and Massachusetts environmental justice communities.

Training Greenscapers
A "Greenscaper" training was held on May 11 and 18 at
the Beardsley Zoo  in Bridgeport, Conn. The training was
targeted to small and minority landscaping and contracting/
construction businesses. The training was provided by EPA
New England's Assistance and Pollution Prevention Office,
the Bridgeport Small & Minority Business Resource Office
and Bridgeport Parks Department, University of Connecti-
cut, the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Water
Program, and Rutgers University. The training focused on
rain gardens as a way to control stormwater runoff. As
part of the program, the 28 trainees installed a rain garden
at the Beardsley Zoo that will be used both for education
and stormwater management. EPA also worked with and
funded a municipal  internship program designed to train
interns on green landscaping and  rain garden techniques.
EPA New England plans to expand this effort and offer rain
garden training to communities throughout New England.

Supporting the Youth & Environment Program
EPA New England awarded a $15,000 grant to the New
England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission
to oversee a program that would introduce economically
disadvantaged youth in  Lowell to career opportunities
in the environmental field. The program was held at the
Lowell, Mass. Regional Wastewater Utility for the summers
of 2010 and 2011. The Lowell program promotes environ-
mental education and helps high school students become
more aware of the need to protect the environment and
water quality in their own communities.

Connecting Trained Community
Members with Environmental Jobs
EPA New England held two regional roundtables in Octo-
ber  2010, in Hartford, Conn,  and in February 2011 in
Providence, Rl, to identify strategies for increasing the
success of connecting New England brownfields job train-
ing graduates to jobs. Participants in the roundtable includ-
ed representatives of the five New England job training
centers, brownfields grantees, state and municipal govern-
ment, private businesses, and EPA. To learn more about
EPA Brownfields Job Training Program, please visit www.
epa.gov/region1/brownfields/programs/jobtrain/index.
html.
KEY CONTACTS:


AMY BRAZ
EPA New England
EJ Coordinator, Office of
Civil Rights & Urban Affairs
(617) 918-1346
braz.amy@epa.gov


GENERAL INFO:


EPA  NEW ENGLAND
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Boston,  MA 02109-3912
(617) 918-1111
www.epa.gov/region1/

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1-888-EPA 7341

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                                                              EPA-901-F-11-006
                                                                    April 2011

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