OUR GEM: EPA’s Superfund Job Training Initiative coming to Bunker Hill

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund Job Training Initiative, or SuperJTI, supports job readiness programs in communities affected by nearby Superfund sites and encourages the employment of trainees at local site cleanups.

The SuperJTI program combines extensive classroom instruction with hands-on exercises for each participant. Upon completion of the program, each participant possesses the marketable skills required to become a valuable member of the community’s workforce. EPA offers SuperJTI training at no cost to training participants.

The program is coming to the Bunker Hill Superfund Site and will train interested Coeur d’Alene Basin residents for remediation and construction work. The program will last from April to early May, and help participants develop skills to secure jobs in environmental remediation, construction and cleanup work. 

SuperJTI was last brought to the Basin in 2012 and 2013. Local contractors successfully hired 10 trainees from that training initiative. The program’s community liaison, Kellogg resident Maureen “Rene” Gilbert, held this role in 2013 and is happy to be back for this year’s effort. EPA staff and Skeo, EPA’s contractor, are also included in the planning team.

“It’s exciting to be part of SuperJTI,” says Gilbert. “The program provides practical skills local people can put to use in jobs that help protect people’s health and the environment. It equips people with the right training certifications so they are qualified to work on a variety of environmental projects.”

Outreach and interviews for the 2024 program will be held during March and early April. Organizers will be seeking 15-20 trainees for this program. Program tryouts include leadership, team building and role-playing activities, a physical fitness evaluation and observation by a team of evaluators from the project’s partners.

The free training provided to participants will include sessions on work readiness, CPR/First Aid, flagging, 40-Hour HAZWOPER and field experience. Training will be held in Osburn in late April.

To sign up for an information session, visit https://cda-job.eventbrite.com or call the hotline at 208-510-6756.

For more information on SuperJTI: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/superfund-job-training-initiative.

The Our Gem Coeur d’Alene Lake Collaborative is a team of committed and passionate professionals working to preserve lake health and protect water quality by promoting community awareness of local water resources through education, outreach, and stewardship. Our Gem includes local experts from the University of Idaho — Idaho Water Resources Research Institute, Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, the Basin Environmental Improvement Project Commission, Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber of Commerce and Kootenai Environmental Alliance.