EPA Youth and the Environment Training and Employment Program

Turning on Youth to Careers in Environmental Protection

The goal of the Program is to provide the participating students with exposure to the various career possibilities in different environmental careers, which include but are not limited to the following: wastewater treatment, wet weather management (combined sewer overflows and sanitary sewer overflows), water supply, recycling, energy management, hazardous waste management, and natural resource protection, and helps to meet the workforce needs in pollution prevention and control professions. Furthermore, the Program provides an opportunity for these students to better understand the environmental problems of their community and how technology can help solve these problems. The Program also encourages increased participation in environmental education programs by teachers, and state, municipal and federal leaders.

Participating students are typically assigned to community wastewater treatment plants where they work side by side with plant personnel and undertake a variety of job tasks. Students participate in daily plant operations including sampling, routine laboratory analyses, recording operation data, maintenance, and special projects. Each participating site has a youth coordinator staff person who manages the day to day aspects of the Program, and has overall responsibility for the participating students. The program typically starts early July and runs through the end of August.

Some of the facilities that have participated in the past included, Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, Massachusetts; Memphis Light, Gas, and Water in Memphis, Tennessee; Lowell Wastewater Treatment Plant in Lowell, Massachusetts; and Denver Wastewater Treatment Plant in Denver, Colorado.

• Grant Guidance (PDF file)



• New England Interstate Youth and the Environment Program



• Guide for Launching a Successful Youth and the Environment Program
(PDF file)

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