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Regular Session, 2010 ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 178
BY SENATOR CROWE
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request British Petroleum (BP) to provide funding to the Louisiana Community
and Technical College System (LCTCS) in the amount of thirty-five million dollars
to establish and maintain programs of instruction in the technology and procedure
of oil spill and hazardous waste cleanup.
WHEREAS, as a result of the explosion and fire aboard the Deepwater Horizon
drilling rig on April 20, 2010, and the resultant oil leak disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, many
Louisiana workers are searching for new job skills and new employment; and
WHEREAS, a federal six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of
Mexico has many workers concerned; and
WHEREAS, so many Louisiana workers, families, and businesses are affected by the
oil spill disaster, and are unaware how extensive or how long the damage to jobs may last;
and
WHEREAS, for years, many Louisianians have been indebted to the oil industry
which has provided thousands of good-paying jobs; and
WHEREAS, in the angst of the drilling moratorium, many Louisiana workers,
families, and businesses will feel the effects of this oil disaster; and
WHEREAS, as offshore employment potentially fades, many workers must look to
the LCTCS for directives, support, and training; and
WHEREAS, the colleges that make up LCTCS include Acadiana Technical College,
Baton Rouge Community College, Bossier Parish Community College, Capital Area
Technical College, Central Louisiana Technical College, Delgado Community College, L.E.
Fletcher Technical Community College, Louisiana Delta Community College, Northeast
Louisiana Technical College, Northshore Technical College, Northwest Louisiana Technical SR NO. 178 ENROLLED
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College, Nunez Community College, South Central Louisiana Technical College, South
Louisiana Community College, and Sowela Technical Community College; and
WHEREAS, the mission of the LCTCS is to improve the quality of life of
Louisiana's citizens through educational programs offered through each college; and
WHEREAS, LCTCS strives to increase employment opportunities for Louisiana's
workforce through various skills training programs; and
WHEREAS, LCTCS works to provide citizens with opportunities to learn new skills
and is committed to teaching what is needed, when it is needed, and where it is needed; and
WHEREAS, LCTCS offers degrees to people needing to move directly into the world
of work, re-trains those changing jobs or those that have lost their jobs and need new skills;
and
WHEREAS, LCTCS provides general education and workforce training curriculums,
and re-training through the Incumbent Worker Training Program; and
WHEREAS, LCTCS has already begun work to provide trainers to supply oil spill
response workers and has conducted the Module 3 class entitled "Post-Emergency Spilled
Oil Cleanup" which prepares individuals for the hazards of oil spill cleanup work; and
WHEREAS, in the near future, LCTCS will begin conducting Module 2 training, the
"Contractor Expectations" class, which provides contractors with a basic health, safety and
environmental orientation focusing on pre-job safety, job planning, risk identification and
the right to discontinue the job if conditions are rendered unsafe; and
WHEREAS, LCTCS trainers will also begin providing hazardous waste operations
and emergency response training, which fully prepares trainees for safe and effective
hazardous waste cleanup; and
WHEREAS, on May 26, 2010, the first day of instruction, LCTCS instructors trained
more than three hundred workers and as June 18, 2010, more than three thousand individuals
have been trained and are job-ready to repair our damaged Gulf Coast; and
WHEREAS, trained individuals directly assist in cleaning the spill-contaminated
shoreline and vessel operations; and
WHEREAS, as LCTCS classes continue, the respective LCTCS colleges are sending
mobile teams to various locations to meet the training needs of local citizens; and SR NO. 178 ENROLLED
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WHEREAS, the importance and need to bring Louisiana citizens back to work who
are affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and the moratorium is of paramount concern
to the members of the Senate.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby urge and request British Petroleum to provide funding to the Louisiana
Community and Technical College System in the amount of thirty-five million dollars to
establish and maintain programs of instruction in the technology and procedure of oil and
hazardous waste cleanup.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be forwarded to the
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of British Petroleum and to the
members of the Louisiana Congressional Delegation.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE