The EPOC Environmental Scholarship Fund was established in 1998 to assist qualified applicants who are attending a college or university (in CT or out of state) and have declared majors pertinent to the environmental field.  The scholarships are awarded annually to junior, senior, and graduate level students (full or part-time) enrolled in accepted programs of study leading the student to become a Technical Environmental Professional in the State of Connecticut as defined by the CT DEEP, or a professional in a related service discipline who may render technical assistance to the Technical Environmental Professional. EPOC would like to express its thanks to all the students applying for a scholarship this year. At recent meetings of the EPOC Scholarship Fund Committee, scholarship applicants were reviewed and voted on. We extend our congratulations to the following award winners:

Riley Matto

Riley is a resident of Stratford and is attending Eastern Connecticut State University as a Junior for the coming academic year. From Riley’s application: I came to Eastern with the knowledge I wanted to pursue a major in Environmental Earth Science, even though I wasn't clear on the jobs available with this major. This summer I am honored to get a taste of what my future could be like by pursuing an internship for my town, Stratford. The internship includes water sampling for the Housatonic River and data entry for these samples. Some careers that stand out to me include- exploration jobs, consultants, and geoscientists.

Daniel Schott

Daniel is a resident of Middletown and is a graduate student at Unity College in New Gloucester, ME. From Daniel’s application: A graduate degree in Environmental Studies and Sustainability will provide me with the essential skills required to be a valuable member of the environmental community. I obtained my bachelor's in environmental science which provided me with the technical skills to jumpstart my career as an environmental professional. Now with almost ten years of remediation and environmental compliance experience, a master's degree will give me the confidence and knowledge required to step into a leadership role in the environmental field.

Aiden Roche

Aiden is a resident of Bristol and is attending Central Connecticut State University as a Senior for the coming academic year. From Aiden’s application:  l I made the swap to a major in Environmental sciences with a specialization in Geology in the Spring 2022 Semester. With a degree in Earth Science and concentration in Geology, I hope either to enter the mining industry to aid in mineral exploration or enter the field of hydrogeology to determine sustainable groundwater sources for agriculture purposes.

Wiktor Szwajger

Wiktor is a resident of East Hampton and is attending the University of Connecticut as a Junior this coming academic year. From Wiktor’s application: Interested in the field of environmental engineering through brownfields and contaminated site remediation. Would like to pursue higher education in Civil and/or Environmental Engineering to continue work on transportation and brownfields. Would like to pursue a career in contaminated site remediation or green transportation planning.

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The EPOC Scholarship Fund is financed through the support of EPOC programs, proceeds from golf tournaments, and direct contributions from individuals and companies. EPOC is a non-profit organization, and as such, contributions to the Scholarship Fund are tax deductible for most firms. Unlike many other organizations, 100% of your contributions go in the EPOC Scholarship Fund. A committee of volunteers who support its goals and ideals manages the fund. For further information, please visit our website at www.epoc.org/scholarship.

EPOC is pleased to offer our Learning Management System (LMS) site to provide our members with recorded content of our meetings, training sessions for our YEP members who are on-track to becoming LEPs, and, on-demand courses for LEP credits. Other content, including YEP training sessions and meetings, are available now as a benefit of EPOC membership with no additional fees required.

To access the site:

• Go to: https://epoc.mclms.net/en/ and click on login link to enter your EPOC main website credentials.
  
  Another way to access the site is to log in to EPOC's main website first at https://epoc.org/Sys/Login, and then go to the LMS site and click the login link. 

We will keep the EPOC membership updated as new content is added as we work towards making this site a resource for all EPOC members and to provide approved on-demand courses for LEP credits.

EPOC Environmental Grant Program

Now Accepting Applications for 2022 Awards

Application deadline is April 15, 2022

For further information and application form, please see: www.epoc.org/grants

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY!

The EPOC Grant Program provides non-profit and not-for-profit environmental advocacy groups, community based groups and environmental education organizations funding for local projects that benefit the environment. The applications will be judged against the environmental benefits of the project and compared to the other grant submittals. Environmental benefits can vary widely and successful applications may include projects within Connecticut that improve the environment, such as: property and watershed clean-ups, reforestation efforts, biodiversity projects, streamside buffer restoration projects, monitoring environmental conditions of watersheds or ecosystems and hazardous waste collection efforts. Also, proposals that promote environmental education and development of youth for careers in the environmental field will be considered.

EPOC 2022 Environmental Scholarship Fund

Application Deadline is April 30, 2022

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND TO APPLY ONLINE, SEE:

www.epoc.org/scholarship

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY!

EPOC recognizes its duty to assist in the education of individuals planning a career in the environmental industry. Consequently, the EPOC Environmental Scholarship Fund was established in 1998. The purpose of the Scholarship Fund is to assist Connecticut residents, or an immediate family member (spouse or child) of an EPOC Member in good standing, who are enrolled in accepted programs of study (see below) preparing the student to become a Technical Environmental Professional* in the State of Connecticut as defined by the CT DEEP, or a professional in a related service discipline who may render technical assistance to the Technical Environmental Professional.

*As defined by the CT DEEP, a Technical Environmental Professional (TEP) is anyone, including a Licensed Environmental Professional, who collects soil, water vapor, or air samples in order to investigate and remediate pollution to the state's soil or water, and who may be directly employed or retained as a consultant by a public or private employer.

Accepted programs of study include the following: Environmental Science, Environmental Studies, Geology, Biology, Chemistry, Hydrogeology, Hydrology, Earth Science, Natural Resource Management, Ecology, Soil Sciences, Water Resources, Toxicology, Wetland Science, Engineering (Civil, Environmental, Chemical), and Other Related Degreed Environmental Programs.

We ask that you assist us in publicizing the availability of the scholarships. If you know of students who meet our criteria, or professors, department chairs or personnel in financial aid offices at the universities you have attended, please inform them of the availability of the scholarship fund and direct them to EPOC's website. Please feel free to forward this e-mail to those who may be interested.

For further information about the EPOC Scholarship Fund, contact Seth Molofsky at (860) 537-0337 or Email: epoc@epoc.org.

The new exam applications for the May 12, 2022 Connecticut Licensed Environmental Professional’s Exam (LEP Exam), including the associated reference forms and verification of education, are now posted on DEEP's website here: LEP Application Forms (ct.gov).

The LEP Exam application and the associated references and verification of education must be submitted to DEEP on or before February 11, 2022.

The evaluation of the LEP Exam applications to determine which candidates are approved to take the exam will be done by the LEP Board on or after Feb 17th.

The Remediation Standard Regulations (Wave 2) and the Environmental Use Restrictions (EURs) have been published and are effective as of February 16, 2021. Please see the following links to the regulations. Note: These documents show deleted text ([in brackets]) and new text (underlined) as compared to the previous regulations. We expect a “clean copy” of the new regulations will be posted soon. Also, EPOC will be conducting training programs on these regulations in the near future.

• 2-16-21 Signed Final Approved Regulation-DEEP - Remediation Standards
• 2-16-21 Signed Final Approved Regulation-DEEP - Environmental Use Restrictions

EPOC 2021 Environmental Scholarship Fund
Applications now being accepted through April 30, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION AND TO APPLY ONLINE, SEE:

www.epoc.org/scholarship

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS OPPORTUNITY!

CT DEEP has provided a copy of their presentation from our virtual meeting on 5/8/20, CLICK HERE (PDF).  

CT DEEP is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in a number of ways.  Please check this page for updates on DEEP’s facilities, process changes, and response initiatives.