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Location is Changed for June 19 News Conference in St. Joseph, Mo., with EPA and Mo-Kan Regional Council

Release Date: 06/17/2014
Contact Information: EPA Region 7 - Chris Whitley, 913-551-7394, whitley.christopher@epa.gov; Mo-Kan Regional Council - Ellie Brewer, 816-233-3144, ellie@mo-kan.org

Environmental News

NEWS MEDIA ADVISORY

(Lenexa, Kan., June 17, 2014) - Due to scheduling issues, EPA Region 7 and the Mo-Kan Regional Council have changed the location of a June 19 press conference in St. Joseph, Mo., to discuss how $1.2 million in EPA grants will be used to provide job training and help speed the cleanup and redevelopment of Brownfields properties across a 15-county area of northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas.

The news conference, which remains scheduled for 11 a.m. on Thursday, June 19, will be held at the offices of the Mo-Kan Regional Council, 224 North 7^th Street, in St. Joseph, Mo.

EPA announced last month that the Mo-Kan Regional Council has been selected to receive a pair of related grants to provide local job training and assistance with cleanup and redevelopment:

• Through EPA’s Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training (EWDJT) program, Mo-Kan will receive $200,000 to recruit, train and place predominantly low-income and minority, unemployed and underemployed residents from communities impacted by hazardous wastes. Mo-Kan plans to train 40 students and place at least 30 of them in sustainable employment with environmental jobs, including various aspects of hazardous and solid waste management.
• Through EPA’s Brownfields Assessment, Revolving Loan Fund and Cleanup (ARC) program, Mo-Kan will receive $1 million to capitalize a revolving loan fund from which it can provide loans and subgrants to support cleanup activities, community engagement and cleanup planning to eligible entities in local communities.

At the June 19 news conference, officials will highlight how these grants will benefit communities in a 15-county area of northwest Missouri (Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Clinton, DeKalb, Gentry, Holt, Nodaway and Worth counties) and northeast Kansas (Atchison, Brown, Doniphan, Jackson, Jefferson and Nemaha counties).

WHAT: News Conference to Discuss Job Training, Brownfields Redevelopment

WHERE: Mo-Kan Regional Council Offices, 224 North 7^th Street, St. Joseph, Mo. 64501

WHEN: 11:00 a.m. Thursday, June 19, 2014

WHO: Karl Brooks, EPA Region 7 Administrator; John Mitchell, Director of Environment for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE); and Tom Bliss, Executive Director of the Mo-Kan Regional Council