People who independently took courses so they could help clean beaches and shorelines if oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill hit the Florida Keys won't be reimbursed by British Petroleum.

Florida Keys Community College collected $33,075 in tuition for eight such classes it offered: three hazardous materials courses that cost $575 each, three that cost $525 each and two oiled wildlife response courses that cost $50 each.

Marine Environmental Technology Program Dean Patrick Rice, who helped organize an instructor to teach the classes, told students in May that BP might reimburse them, but a company spokesman on Wednesday said BP will not pay for courses it didn't create.

"During each course we recommended [students] hold on to their receipts in case BP was willing to reimburse them," Rice said Wednesday. "We didn't know; things were changing daily and BP had reimbursed us the initial $10,000, and it seemed wise to hold on to the course receipts."

BP gave the college $10,000 specifically to train 100 people in a four-hour Occupational Safety and Health Administration Marine Oil Spill Post-Emergency Response course in May, and those students were reimbursed, college spokeswoman Amber Ernst-Leonard said.

Rice said BP initially would not say whether it would reimburse independent students for subsequent classes because, "They didn't want to send a message around the Keys that it was necessary to prepare for oil [coming ashore]."

BP eventually made it clear that it would not reimburse the students, Rice said. BP spokesman Andrew Van Chau "was the first person I had talked to who wasn't a brick wall," Rice said.

Van Chau met with Rice and other college staff in June to discuss subsequent classes.

"Dr. Rice wanted to pursue some additional opportunities for folks to take training, which he pursued independent of our efforts," Van Chau said. "There was no discussion of possible reimbursement; those courses were pursued independently of our efforts."

Some people criticized the college for charging so much for the classes. The college said it simply was trying to respond to a need to train as many volunteers as possible -- even as BP and other government agencies were still working out their roles in the crisis, Ernst-Leonard said.

Van Chau would not say how much BP has spent on classes since hiring Plant Performance Services (PS2) in July to train 300 Keys residents, through the South Florida Workforce, to be "qualified community responders."

"We hope they're never needed," employment agency spokesman Ed Hoover said. "But if the oil ever hits -- we're keeping our fingers crossed -- they're on standby and ready to help."

jguerra@keysnews.com