MGCCC, EPA sign Gulf Program agreement

GAUTIER, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College is partnering with the Environmental Protection Agency to expand environmental education programs at the two-year school.

MGCCC President Mary Graham and Ben Skaggs, director of the EPA’s Gulf Program, signed the internship and research agreement this week.

The Gulf of Mexico Program was founded in 1988 at the Stennis Space Center in Hancock County. It promotes programs on environmental and cultural issues associated with preserving the Gulf Coast.

The program has several partnerships with universities, including the University of Southern Mississippi.

Skaggs says the program helps the agency use college students in its ongoing projects including monitoring Gulf water quality and how coastal communities rely upon healthy Gulf waters for their livelihoods.

Source: Associated Press