December 8, 2021

SEATTLE (Dec. 8, 2021) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is awarding more than $2 million in grants to projects in Seattle, Tacoma, and Portland that reduce diesel emissions from the region’s existing fleet of older, dirtier engines and vehicles. An additional $2 million in grant funding was awarded for state-led emission reduction programs in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. The funding is part of $77 million awarded nationwide through the 2021 Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA).

“Cleaner trucks, buses, boats, and heavy equipment keep local economies thriving while better protecting the health of the people living and working near ports, schools, and along delivery routes,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Combined with $5 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law going to electric and alternative fuel school buses over the coming months and years, EPA is leading an unprecedented investment in cleaner air for communities across the country.”

In EPA’s Region 10, over $2 million in DERA national grants were awarded to:

• Northwest Seaport Alliance (Tacoma, WA), $719,957. NW Seaport Alliance project will replace drayage trucks with new, cleaner trucks.

In addition, more than $2 million in DERA state grants were awarded for diesel emission reduction programs in:

• Alaska Energy Authority, $506,679. AEA program will replace prime power diesel engines in rural Alaska. These engines typically run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and make the largest impact on air quality for a rural community.

• Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, $509,502. DEQ program replaces or retrofits eligible vehicles or equipment with new diesel engines, alternate fueled engines (propane, compressed natural gas), or all-electric engines that emit fewer pollutants.

• Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, $516,957. DEQ program supports upgrades of older transit and school buses with new diesel engines, alternate fueled engines, or all-electric engines that emit fewer pollutants.

• Washington Department of Ecology, $526,487. Ecology helps school districts retrofit or replace old school buses with new, clean-running buses and retrofit public fleet vehicles, cargo-handling equipment, locomotives, and garbage trucks in densely populated areas.

In selecting projects for awards, priority is given to projects that: are in areas designated as having poor air quality; reduce emissions from ports and other goods movement facilities; benefit local communities; incorporate local communities in project planning; and demonstrate an ability to continue efforts to reduce emissions after the project has ended. 

Nationwide, DERA grants cover a wide range of projects to reduce diesel emissions including upgrades to school buses, port equipment, and construction equipment. Many of these awards will support replacing older diesel equipment with zero emission technologies such as transportation refrigeration units, terminal tractors, drayage trucks, refuse trucks, a locomotive, and a port ship-to-shore gantry crane. Grant-funded projects will reduce diesel pollution and benefit local communities, many of which are facing environmental justice concerns.

The DERA Program funds grants and rebates that protect human health and improve air quality by reducing harmful emissions from diesel engines. Since the start of the DERA program in 2008, EPA has awarded over $1 billion in grants and rebates to modernize the nation’s diesel fleet and speed the turnover to cleaner on- and off-road heavy-duty trucks and equipment.

In addition to DERA, following the passage of the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA will be making significant investments in the health, equity, and resilience of American communities. EPA will offer a total of $5 billion between fiscal years 2022 and 2026 for a Clean School Bus Plan to fund the replacement of dirtier school buses with low- or no-carbon school buses. Each year, $500 million will be available exclusively for electric school buses and $500 million will be available for electric buses and multiple types of cleaner alternative fuel school buses. In line with the President’s commitment to Justice40, EPA is actively working to ensure DERA funding, including Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding, maximizes the benefits that are directed to underserved communities. 

EPA’s Region 10 serves communities in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and 271 Tribal Nations. Learn more about EPA’s work in the Pacific Northwest at: epa.gov/epa-region-10-pacific-northwest. Connect with us on Twitter: @EPAnorthwest and Facebook: @eparegion10. 

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Originally Appeared Here

$12 million available for historically underserved farm-focused projects in Gulf of Mexico watershed

December 14, 2021

LENEXA, KAN. (DEC. 14, 2021) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the availability of $12 million in funding to support historically underserved farmers within the Gulf of Mexico watershed through the Farmer to Farmer grant program. Waters in EPA Region 7 are within this watershed.

Selected projects will work to increase collaboration among farming communities, while improving water quality, habitat, climate resilience, and environmental education through the demonstration of innovative practices on working lands.

EPA plans to award four cooperative agreements, with up to $3 million of funding each. It is expected that grant awards may be issued for up to a five-year project period beginning May 2022. Successful applicants will be responsible for administering a competitive subaward grant program to directly collaborate with underserved farmers on projects in the Gulf of Mexico watershed. The request for applications period will end on Feb. 4, 2022. EPA will hold an informational webinar about this funding on Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, at 2 p.m. CST. Register here.

“We encourage our state agencies, tribes, nonprofit organizations, and universities to attend the Jan. 6 webinar and apply for this new Farmer to Farmer funding opportunity,” said Deputy EPA Region 7 Administrator Edward H. Chu. “We hope to build on the successes that our regional partners have had using these cooperative agreements to improve water quality. This funding would go toward innovative local solutions to reduce excess nutrient pollution in our waters and the greater Gulf of Mexico watershed.”

Supporting collaboration with underserved farmers underscores this administration’s commitment to equal opportunity and advancing equity for all while achieving environmental good. Farmers are on the front line of action in reducing nonpoint source pollution and are critical stakeholders along with their state governments, farm organizations, conservation groups, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, and community groups.

Under this grant program, proposals will carry out project activities using one or more of the following methods: surveys, studies, research, investigation, experimentation, education, training, and/or demonstrations. The proposed projects must include collaboration and sustainable and resilient agriculture operations. Additionally, the proposed projects must be focused on at least one of the following activities: water quality, habitat, or sustainable forest management.

Eligible applicants include state agencies, federally recognized tribes and tribal consortia, any agency or instrumentality of local governments, nonprofit organizations, interstate agencies, and colleges and universities including minority-serving institutions.

Background

The Farmer-to-Farmer grant funding is available to develop innovative practices within farming communities, measure the results of those practices, and identify how the practices will be incorporated into farming operations.

Historically, EPA has awarded $20 million to support projects to improve water quality, habitat, and environmental education through farmer-led or farm-focused organizations in the Gulf of Mexico watershed, including the upper and lower Mississippi River basins.

The Gulf of Mexico Division is a non-regulatory program of EPA founded to facilitate collaborative actions to protect, maintain, and restore the health and productivity of the Gulf of Mexico in ways consistent with the economic well-being of the region. To carry out its mission, the Gulf of Mexico Division continues to maintain and expand partnerships with state and federal agencies, federally recognized tribes, local governments and authorities, academia, regional business and industry, agricultural and environmental organizations, and individual citizens and communities.

View the funding opportunity on grants.gov. View the opportunity on EPA’s Gulf of Mexico page.

For more information, visit EPA’s website.

# # #

Learn more about EPA Region 7

View all Region 7 news releases

Connect with EPA Region 7 on Facebook: www.facebook.com/eparegion7

Follow us on Twitter: @EPARegion7

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Originally Appeared Here

PHILADELPHIA (Dec. 9, 2021) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a $659,405 grant today to the Greater Washington Regional Clean Cities Coalition for projects that reduce diesel emissions from the nation’s fleet of older, dirtier engines and vehicles.  The coalition will use the funds to replace four utility vehicles and 10 municipal construction vehicles with new equipment using biodiesel.

EPA awarded $53 million through the 2021 Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) National Grant program, and an additional $24 million was awarded to states through the State DERA Grant program, for a total of $77 million to reduce diesel pollution in local communities.

“Cleaner trucks, buses, boats, and heavy equipment keep local economies thriving while better protecting the health of the people living and working near ports, schools, and along delivery routes,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz. “The projects will reduce diesel pollution and benefit local communities, many of which are facing environmental justice issues.”

Fifty-five national DERA grants were awarded covering a wide range of projects to reduce diesel emissions including upgrades to school buses, port equipment and construction equipment. Nineteen of these awards will support replacing older diesel equipment with zero emission technologies such as transportation refrigeration units, terminal tractors, drayage trucks, refuse trucks, a locomotive and a port ship-to-shore gantry crane.

 In selecting projects for awards, priority was given to projects that:

• are in areas designated as having poor air quality.
• reduce emissions from ports and other goods movement facilities.
• benefit local communities.
• incorporate local communities in project planning.
• demonstrate an ability to continue efforts to reduce emissions after the project has ended. 

EPA also awarded $24 million under EPA’s 2021 DERA State Grants program to 49 states and three territories to implement their own diesel emissions reduction programs locally. This program allows states to target funds towards the diesel emissions reduction projects that best align with local priorities. 

Since the start of the DERA program in 2008, EPA has awarded over $1 billion in grants and rebates to modernize the nation’s diesel fleet and speed the turnover to cleaner on- and off-road heavy-duty trucks and equipment.

In addition to DERA, following the passage of the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA will be making significant investments in the health, equity, and resilience of American communities. EPA will offer a total of $5 billion between fiscal years 2022 and 2026 to fund the replacement of dirtier school buses with low- or no-carbon school buses.

Each year, $500 million will be available exclusively for electric school buses and $500 million will be available for electric buses and multiple types of cleaner alternative fuel school buses. In line with the President’s commitment to Justice40, EPA is actively working to ensure DERA funding, including Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding, maximizes the benefits that are directed to underserved communities. 

For more information on DERA national grants:  https://www.epa.gov/dera/national-dera-awarded-grants

More information on DERA state grants:  https://www.epa.gov/dera/state-allocations

For information on the Clean School Bus Plan under the BIL: https://www.epa.gov/transportation-air-pollution-and-climate-change/clean-school-bus-plan

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Originally Appeared Here

PHILADELPHIA (Dec. 9, 2021) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a $1,286,521 grant today to the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority for a project that will reduce diesel emissions from the nation’s fleet of older, dirtier engines. The Port Authority will use the funds to convert a ship to shore gantry crane from diesel to electric.

EPA awarded $53 million through the 2021 Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) National Grant program, and an additional $24 million was awarded to states through the State DERA Grant program, for a total of $77 million to reduce diesel pollution in local communities.

“Cleaner trucks, buses, boats, and heavy equipment keep local economies thriving while better protecting the health of the people living and working near ports, schools, and along delivery routes,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz. “The projects will reduce diesel pollution and benefit local communities, many of which are facing environmental justice issues.”

Fifty-five national DERA grants were awarded covering a wide range of projects to reduce diesel emissions including upgrades to school buses, port equipment and construction equipment. Nineteen of these awards will support replacing older diesel equipment with zero emission technologies such as transportation refrigeration units, terminal tractors, drayage trucks, refuse trucks, a locomotive, as well as the port ship-to-shore gantry crane.

 In selecting projects for awards, priority was given to projects that:

• are in areas designated as having poor air quality.
• reduce emissions from ports and other goods movement facilities.
• benefit local communities.
• incorporate local communities in project planning.
• demonstrate an ability to continue efforts to reduce emissions after the project has ended. 

EPA also awarded $24 million under EPA’s 2021 DERA State Grants program to 49 states and three territories to implement their own diesel emissions reduction programs locally. This program allows states to target funds towards the diesel emissions reduction projects that best align with local priorities. 

Since the start of the DERA program in 2008, EPA has awarded over $1 billion in grants and rebates to modernize the nation’s diesel fleet and speed the turnover to cleaner on- and off-road heavy-duty trucks and equipment.

In addition to DERA, following the passage of the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA will be making significant investments in the health, equity and resilience of American communities. EPA will offer a total of $5 billion between fiscal years 2022 and 2026 to fund the replacement of dirtier school buses with low- or no-carbon school buses.

Each year, $500 million will be available exclusively for electric school buses and $500 million will be available for electric buses and multiple types of cleaner alternative fuel school buses. In line with the President’s commitment to Justice40, EPA is actively working to ensure DERA funding, including Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding, maximizes the benefits that are directed to underserved communities. 

For more information on DERA national grants:  https://www.epa.gov/dera/national-dera-awarded-grants

More information on DERA state grants:  https://www.epa.gov/dera/state-allocations

For information on the Clean School Bus Plan under the BIL: https://www.epa.gov/transportation-air-pollution-and-climate-change/clean-school-bus-plan

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Originally Appeared Here

December 16, 2021

WASHINGTON (Dec. 16, 2021) – Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan announced that the agency will begin developing a new regulation to better protect communities from exposure to lead in drinking water. EPA is committed to using every tool available—statutory authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act, technical assistance, funding, and more—to protect all Americans from lead in drinking water. The agency will collaboratively work with local, state, and federal partners, to make rapid progress on President Biden’s goal to remove 100% of lead service lines, with a focus on prioritizing communities disproportionately impacted by lead contamination.

“Over the past year, I have visited with and heard from communities in Chicago, Flint, Jackson, and many other areas that are impacted by lead in drinking water,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “These conversations have underscored the need to proactively remove lead service lines, especially in low-income communities. The science on lead is settled—there is no safe level of exposure and it is time to remove this risk to support thriving people and vibrant communities.”

Today’s announcement is a key component of the Biden-Harris administration’s whole of government Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan, also announced today.

Following the agency’s review of the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) under Executive Order 13990, EPA has concluded that there are significant opportunities to improve the rule to support the overarching goal of proactively removing lead service lines and more equitably protecting public health. EPA is announcing a two-prong approach to strengthen this regulatory framework.

Beginning December 16, the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions will go into effect to advance critical lead service line inventories that are necessary to achieve 100% removal of lead service lines. The agency plans to issue guidance—including best practices, case studies, and templates to help develop lead service line inventories—to assist its partners in implementation of the rule.

EPA will also develop a new proposed rule, the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, that will strengthen the regulatory framework. EPA intends to propose requirements that, along with other actions, would result in the replacement of all lead service lines as quickly as is feasible. EPA also intends to consider opportunities to strengthen tap sampling requirements and explore options to reduce the complexity and confusion associated with the action level and trigger level, with a focus on reducing health risks in more communities. The goal of these potential lead service line replacement regulatory improvements—coupled with non-regulatory actions—is to more equitably protect public health.

Additionally, EPA will allocate $2.9 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to states, Tribes, and territories to remove lead service lines. This 2022 allocation is the first of five allotments that will provide $15 billion in dedicated funding for lead serve lines replacements. In addition to the dedicated investment in lead service lines, the Law provides an additional $11.7 billion in general funding through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, which can also be utilized for lead removal projects.

To see additional actions that EPA is taking under the President’s action plan, visit: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/12/16/fact-sheet-the-biden-harris-lead-pipe-and-paint-action-plan/

For more information on EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule, visit: https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/review-national-primary-drinking-water-regulation-lead-and-copper.

For more information on estimated 2022 Drinking Water State Revolving Fund allotments to remove lead service lines through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, visit: www.epa.gov/infrastructure/water-infrastructure-investments.

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Originally Appeared Here

PHILADELPHIA (Dec. 9, 2021) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a $1,396,677 grant today to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Air Management Association (MARAMA) for projects that reduce diesel emissions from the nation’s fleet of older, dirtier engines and vehicles.  MARAMA will use the funds to replace 40 aging drayage trucks with newer cleaner vehicles.

EPA awarded $53 million through the 2021 Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) National Grant program, and an additional $24 million was awarded to states through the State DERA Grant program, for a total of $77 million to reduce diesel pollution in local communities.

“Cleaner trucks, buses, boats, and heavy equipment keep local economies thriving while better protecting the health of the people living and working near ports, schools, and along delivery routes,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz. “The projects will reduce diesel pollution and benefit local communities, many of which are facing environmental justice issues.”

Fifty-five national DERA grants were awarded covering a wide range of projects to reduce diesel emissions including upgrades to school buses, port equipment and construction equipment. Nineteen of these awards will support replacing older diesel equipment with zero emission technologies such as transportation refrigeration units, terminal tractors, drayage trucks, refuse trucks, a locomotive and a port ship-to-shore gantry crane.

 In selecting projects for awards, priority was given to projects that:

• are in areas designated as having poor air quality.
• reduce emissions from ports and other goods movement facilities.
• benefit local communities.
• incorporate local communities in project planning.
• demonstrate an ability to continue efforts to reduce emissions after the project has ended.

EPA also awarded $24 million under EPA’s 2021 DERA State Grants program to 49 states and three territories to implement their own diesel emissions reduction programs locally. This program allows states to target funds towards the diesel emissions reduction projects that best align with local priorities. 

Since the start of the DERA program in 2008, EPA has awarded over $1 billion in grants and rebates to modernize the nation’s diesel fleet and speed the turnover to cleaner on- and off-road heavy-duty trucks and equipment.

In addition to DERA, following the passage of the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA will be making significant investments in the health, equity, and resilience of American communities. EPA will offer a total of $5 billion between fiscal years 2022 and 2026 to fund the replacement of dirtier school buses with low- or no-carbon school buses.

Each year, $500 million will be available exclusively for electric school buses and $500 million will be available for electric buses and multiple types of cleaner alternative fuel school buses. In line with the President’s commitment to Justice40, EPA is actively working to ensure DERA funding, including Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding, maximizes the benefits that are directed to underserved communities. 

For more information on DERA national grants:  https://www.epa.gov/dera/national-dera-awarded-grants

More information on DERA state grants:  https://www.epa.gov/dera/state-allocations

For information on the Clean School Bus Plan under the BIL: https://www.epa.gov/transportation-air-pollution-and-climate-change/clean-school-bus-plan

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Originally Appeared Here

Projects in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont

December 16, 2021

BOSTON, Dec. 16, 2021 — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced $1,350,000 in environmental justice (EJ) grant funding for 13 grants in New England selected through the Environmental Justice Small Grants (EJSG) and Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement (EJCPS) programs. The New England projects are among 133 grants, totaling $14.1 million, announced by EPA to advance environmental justice nationwide.

In New England, ten EJ Small Grant recipients have been selected to receive up to $75,000 each, and three EJCPS grant recipients have been selected to receive up to $200,000 each, following successful completion of the award process. The majority of these EJ grants are receiving funds appropriated through the American Rescue Plan (ARP).

“President Biden has made it clear that delivering environmental justice is a top priority for this Administration, especially in communities most gravely impacted by the pandemic and health outcome disparities from pollution,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Thanks to the President and Congress, today’s environmental justice grants funded in large part by the American Rescue Plan will provide critical support to our most overburdened and vulnerable communities.”

“EPA is very proud to be funding thirteen important projects in five New England states to help overburdened communities address longstanding environmental concerns,” said EPA New England Acting Regional Administrator Deb Szaro. “EPA New England has always made addressing environmental justice concerns a priority, and we are now redoubling that commitment to ensure that EPA is protecting public health and the environment for all our citizens.”

New England-based EJ Small Grant Recipients

Connecticut:
New Haven Ecology Project, based in New Haven, Conn., plans to inspire New Haven residents to grow food locally and build the City’s capacity to improve air quality and public health. The organization’s project aims to create spaces for community knowledge sharing that amplify local experts and youth voices regarding climate friendly food by utilizing its farm to create an intensive learning experience for summer farm interns and a Green Jobs Corps crew. The organization focuses on learning and leadership, inviting people across ages and identities to connect to their urban environment, build community, grow into their full potential, and contribute to a just and sustainable role. Through an established network of connections in New Haven, the New Haven Ecology Project will create a welcoming learning space to engage 175 people for an annual conference and five smaller workshops, including youth workshops.

Katherine Sebastian Dring (Eastern Pequot Tribal Nation) is a state recognized Tribal government located in Connecticut and a small non-profit that plans to expand a Native Farm to School Program that promotes healthy eating, growing techniques and traditional native crops at schools, and on its reservation at the Mary Momoho Community Garden for children and adults. The community garden supports a long-standing food pantry program that provides healthy food bundles for tribal members and other individuals in need of assistance. The Tribe plans to invite students to its 220-acre reservation in North Stonington, CT to learn about and participate in the community garden, participate in air and water quality testing and receive environmental education. The project seeks to expand the Tribe’s food pantry effort by expanding the garden to carry out the project, yield more crops, water collection and irrigation, outfit a complete solar green energy system for the processing station, educational environment, and zero carbon footprint community center.

Towers Foundation, based in New Haven, Conn., is a small non-profit that proposes to revitalize a 13,300 square foot area on its residential campus in downtown New Haven by building a functioning community garden for low-income seniors, neighbors, and community partners. The project’s objective is to provide environmental and nutritional assets that will lead to higher quality of life and stronger community health. The proposed outcomes of this project would improve air quality and green space from added trees, plants, and shade; reduced food insecurity; increased nutritional health from consuming fresh fruits and vegetables; and expanded socialization opportunities through activities with other residents, families, friends, and neighbors.

Greater Dwight Development Corporation, based in New Haven, Conn., is a small non-profit that seeks to address longstanding, neighborhood-scale environmental justice and health concerns through the development of a new action-oriented plan for the Greater Dwight neighborhood, framed around health and the environment. The organization plans to partner with the Yale University Urban Design Workgroup and others to conduct a community engagement and planning process focused on addressing air quality and urban heat island effect concerns; develop research on environmental conditions in the neighborhood, including air quality monitoring; and develop a web-based neighborhood planning document, including a GIS-based, real-time dashboard of air quality in the neighborhood.

Massachusetts:
GreenRoots, based in Chelsea, Mass., is a small non-profit that plans to create a comprehensive multi-stakeholder, community-led task force addressing air quality concerns in Chelsea and East Boston, MA. In April 2021, GreenRoots received $200,000 from the MA Attorney General’s Office as part of a settlement for air quality violations. Funding from the MA Attorney General’s Office will be used to purchase air purifiers for homes in Chelsea impacted by poor air quality. GreenRoots’ EJ Small Grant project will ensure this program has robust community engagement and is a replicable model for other EJ communities. The EJ Small Grant will support the facilitation of a resident-led, multi-stakeholder task force to understand and analyze air quality data collected; translate and share data out easily, accessibly and multilingually; collaborate with air quality experts, health institutions and city partners to best determine air filter distribution; develop strategies to ensure regular air filter use; and lastly, it will support information gathering to determine if the filters are improving health and quality of life and if there are potential policy changes that could lead to lasting air quality improvements.

Speak for the Trees, based in Watertown, Mass., is a small non-profit that plans to improve the size, health, and equity of Boston’s urban forest. The proposed project, “Community Tree Stories,” will increase awareness and dialogue surrounding inequitable tree canopy cover and its implications on the health of residents living in EJ communities. The project will be conducted in partnership with community-based organizations and nonprofits who will co-develop a series of community tree walks in three neighborhoods for residents, municipal officials, and researchers to explore and deepen their understanding of the intersections of environmental justice, clean air, and tree canopy cover. Through survey collection, storytelling, and community engagement, the project will incubate partnerships and develop shared visions for an urban forest that provides public health benefits. Data and information collection will also nurture a partnership with American Forests in developing a community-informed Tree Equity Score Analyzer (TESA) for Boston. TESA will define and refine future tree equity work in Boston, enabling residents, grassroots organizations, elected officials, and City of Boston staff to create parcel-scale tree planting scenarios for environmental and public health benefits.

Regional Environmental Council, based in Worcester, Mass., is a small non-profit that aims to increase the accessibility and affordability of healthy food for residents of Worcester’s low-income neighborhoods by creating a more equitable and sustainable regional food system. This project seeks to promote community health and welfare by increasing public education and building local capacity to address climate change by training urban gardeners in best practices for urban food gardening techniques that promote climate resilience. The project will educate and train growers at 60 community and school garden sites in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color to engage in healthy soil and bio growth practices that sequester carbon and will create a network of skilled community volunteers to support this project.

Mystic River Watershed Association plans to increase understanding of residents’ current experience of extreme heat and housing and food insecurity in Everett, Mass., in order to implement climate resilience efforts and ensure that potential strategies to combat these issues do not increase social inequities, such as gentrification and displacement of lower-income and working-class residents. The project seeks to: examine policies, plans and programs that were activated during the pandemic via municipal and community-based organizations in Everett through participatory research; identify if strategies are adaptable or can be improved upon for long-term climate resilience, with a particular focus on extreme heat and housing and food insecurity; and determine resident-led policy, systems and environmental change strategies to combat extreme heat and housing and food insecurity.

Rhode Island:
Refugee Development Center, based in Providence, R.I., is a small non-profit that seeks to address housing safety and prevent lead poisoning among refugees in Rhode Island. The project will focus on increasing awareness about lead safety and decrease the incidence of lead poisoning among refugees. Refugee Development Center plans to conduct preventative home visits and phone check-ins on lead safety with refugee families in collaboration with relevant partners. The project’s long-term goal is to increase knowledge about lead safety in the refugee community and for participants in the project to spread awareness among their family and friends.

Vermont:
Center for Whole Communities, based in Burlington, VT is a small non-profit that plans to create the Vermont Environmental Justice (VT-EJ) Network that will strategically build on work addressing local environmental and public health issues, drawing on findings and results from project partners’ research on COVID-19 vulnerabilities, EJ mapping, and community surveys. The demographics and rural setting of Vermont can hide environmental injustices in the state’s communities; however, issues of water quality, indoor air quality, energy affordability, transportation access, food insecurity, and associated health risks disproportionately affect low-income populations and communities of color. The VT-EJ Network will bridge overburdened community members with decision-makers at the state and local level, fostering relationships and creating continuity between communities and government, increasing accessibility of information and resources, and supporting context-sensitive communication. Long term, the VT-EJ Network will strengthen communities’ ability to equitably distribute environmental burdens and benefits.

New England-based EJ Collaborative Problem-Solving Grants

Connecticut:
Hartford Parent University, Inc., in collaboration with Hartford Public Schools, Trinity Health Care, the City of Hartford’s Public Health Department and stakeholders will implement Phase 1 and 2 of an EPA New England Healthy Communities grant with a focus on lead poisoning in the home, classroom and water supply in Hartford – the poorest town in Connecticut. Unlike the first virtual EPA pilot project, this “Working Together for a Healthy Hartford” program will be a hands-on interactive program with the community at large through HPU’s parent organizers and eight Hartford Public School PTO’s and PTA’s. HPU anticipates reaching 1,000 community members over the course of two years. The focus will be on collaborative problem-solving, in the context of environmental justice, using a “proactive, strategic, and visionary community-based processes to develop solutions to address local environmental and public health issues” to achieve a Healthy Hartford. 90 percent of all parent workers are bilingual.

Maine:
Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness, multiple tribal communities – The five Wabanaki people and communities in Maine will be served through this grant. Funding will support the expansion of Environmental Health Worker services to limit ongoing COVID-19 impacts with an emphasis on indoor and outdoor air quality, clean drinking water, and emergency preparedness. Additionally, youth groups in each community will work with a designated Environmental Health Worker and internal and external partners to create projects surrounding clean drinking water, air quality, and/or emergency preparedness based off their assessment of individual community needs. Youth leaders will then present the results of their projects to community members and internal and external partners.

Massachusetts:
Partners for a Healthier Community, Inc., Springfield – This organization will launch the “Pioneer Valley Air Quality Monitoring Project” (PVAQM) to build community leadership for issues including air quality awareness, climate resilience, environmental justice, urban forestry and community science. The project will build on the efforts of the Pioneer Valley Asthma Coalition, Live Well Springfield, and partners ReGreen and Earthwatch in addressing health outcomes through the maintenance and expansion of an air quality monitoring network in the cities of Springfield, Holyoke and Chicopee. Working together, the partner agencies will maintain and expand the current PVAQM network of over 50 sensors collecting data on PM2.5 and ozone in the region, focusing on EJ neighborhoods in Holyoke and Springfield to Chicopee and other nearby EJ areas. The project will conduct semi-annual monitoring of other organic contaminants and toxic substances and will operate with a lens of racial and health equity to ensure that resident voices are at the center of project planning and implementation. The project will build on collaboration among community-based organizations, coalitions, and the cities’ departments to ensure that community residents have a voice in advocacy and decision-making around these issues.

Background on 2021 EJ Small Grants

Nationwide, EPA’s 2021 EJ Small Grants selections will benefit communities in 37 states, as well as Washington DC and Puerto Rico. The ninety-nine projects, many funded through ARP, cover a wide array of environmental justice issues including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, air monitoring, indoor/outdoor air quality, food access, community planning, water treatment training, community agriculture, green jobs and infrastructure, emergency preparedness and planning, toxic exposures, water quality, and healthy homes projects.

Also, in support of President Biden’s Executive Orders 13985 and 14008 , EPA has for the first time created a designation exclusively for small nonprofit organizations, defined as having 10 or fewer full-time employees. This effort reflects the President’s Justice40 initiative defined in EO 14008 and ensures that grant resources reach organizations of lower capacity that historically struggle to receive federal funding. 83 of the organizations receiving an EJ Small Grant this year are small nonprofit organizations. To see the full listing of all 99 organizations receiving an EJSG and to learn more about EJSG, visit: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/environmental-justice-small-grants-program

Background on 2021 EJ Collaborative Problem-Solving Grants

Nationwide, EPA’s 2021 EJ Collaborative Problem-Solving selections will benefit communities in 24 states, as well as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These 34 projects address a breadth of environmental justice issues including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, air monitoring, indoor/outdoor air quality, community education, EJ tool development, green jobs and infrastructure, food access, emergency preparedness and planning, toxic exposures, land reuse, water quality, and support of healthy homes. To see the full listing of all the selected 34 EJCPS projects and to learn more about EJCPS, visit: https://www.epa.gov/environmental-justice/environmental-justice-collaborative-problem-solving-cooperative-agreement-0.

Background on the American Rescue Plan Appropriation to EPA

Earlier this year, EPA announced spending plans for the $100 million in ARP funding appropriated by Congress in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and health outcome disparities, with $50 million being designated to improve ambient air quality monitoring, and $50 million specifically designated for environmental justice to address disproportionate environmental or public health harms and risks in underserved communities through a range of local initiatives.

Of this $50 million ARP appropriation for EJ, $4.1 million went to support 21 EJ projects under the State/Tribal/Local EJ Cooperative Agreement (SEJCA) awards program. The additional EJSG and EJCPS selections announced today will account for approximately $9.55 million of ARP funds with additional funding provided through regular annual appropriations to EPA. Upcoming ARP-funded EJ grant activities will be announced after the EJSG and EJCPS awards are finalized.

To learn more about EJ at EPA, visit: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was signed into law on March 11, 2021. To learn more about ARP funding at EPA, visit: https://www.epa.gov/arp.

For up-to-date information about Environmental Justice funding opportunities, events, and webinars, subscribe to EPA’s Environmental Justice listserv by sending a blank email to: [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter: @EPAEnvJustice.

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Originally Appeared Here

National Estuary Program provides funds for state, local, tribal, and federal projects.

December 16, 2021

SEATTLE (December 16, 2021) – The Northwest office of the Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it is providing over $34 million in grant funds to state, local, tribal, and federal partners for Puget Sound recovery and conservation efforts.

“Puget Sound is a national treasure with profound economic and cultural significance,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “These funds help build stronger partnerships and deliver results that are much-needed fuel for recovery of Puget Sound and the communities that depend on it. In addition to these grant funds, the $89 million slated for Puget Sound in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will accelerate this progress to secure tangible, concrete protections that will benefit local communities for generations.” 

These National Estuary Program funds support development and implementation of the Puget Sound Action Agenda – the five-year strategy for Puget Sound recovery – and work to meet tribal trust responsibilities and treaty obligations. These grants fund a diversity of work spanning from habitat protection, to finding and fixing sources of pollution, to cutting edge stormwater research, to tribal salmon restoration projects.

Recipients include three tribal consortia, 19 federally recognized tribes, the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, Washington’s Department of Ecology, Department of Health, Department of Fish and Wildlife, Department of Natural Resources, and Department of Commerce, the Puget Sound Partnership, Washington State University’s Stormwater Center, and the University of Washington’s Puget Sound Institute.

Since 2006, Congress has appropriated $419 million in Clean Water Act and geographic program funds for Puget Sound that EPA has used to help restore more than 50,000 acres of habitat and protect in excess of 150,000 acres of harvestable shellfish beds. These federal funds have leveraged nearly $2.1 billion of additional funds largely from the state of Washington.

In addition to grants, EPA experts partner with and provide their scientific and policy expertise to local, state, and tribal governments, industry and NGOs are involved in scientific research and restoration projects throughout the Puget Sound basin. The EPA Puget Sound Program also co-leads the Puget Sound Federal Task Force that works to coordinate federal programs and resources to support Puget Sound Recovery. To learn more about this inter-agency effort, see the recently posted November 2021 Progress Report.

Encompassing 8 million acres of rivers, bays, beaches and shorelines, the Puget Sound basin serves as an economic and cultural hub for the region’s more than 4.7 million people, including 19 federally recognized tribes.

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EPA’s Region 10 serves communities in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and 271 Tribal Nations. Learn more about EPA’s work in the Pacific Northwest at: epa.gov/epa-region-10-pacific-northwest. Connect with us on Twitter: @EPAnorthwest and Facebook: @eparegion10. 

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Originally Appeared Here

December 10, 2021

The Federal-State On-Farm Compost Work Group is pleased to announce the launch of an On-Farm Compost Resource Website. The resources on this website include information and tools to help farmers and ranchers compost agricultural byproducts, including manure, and maintain compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.

The website is hosted by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and was developed as part of a larger collaborative working group that was co-led by the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), US Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service (USDA NRCS), and California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) as well as eleven additional state and regional regulatory bodies. The working group was formed in 2019 to help reduce barriers and clarify regulatory requirements for producers wishing to co-compost off-site agricultural waste.

“California farmers and ranchers have long understood the benefits of this proven practice, just like those who embrace composting at home” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. “This multi-agency effort will help meet farmer demand for more on-farm composting to ensure safe, nutrient rich soil, and this new on-line resource provides a single location to show our producers how to put it all together in compliance with California environmental regulations.”

“California will dramatically cut a major source of climate warming gas when we launch food and yard waste composting statewide in 2022,” said California Environmental Protection Agency Secretary Jared Blumenfeld. “Using this compost on our agricultural and rangelands will add to that greenhouse gas reduction and help drought-ravaged soil retain water.”

“The tools created by the On-Farm Compost Work Group will help promote the composting of agricultural materials in California,” added EPA Pacific Southwest Acting Regional Administrator Deborah Jordan. “Composting is an alternate pathway for agricultural materials, which will reduce ag burning in California, thus protecting air and water quality.”

“Application of compost is a common soil health practice, that can help farmers in our arid climate maintain and build soil carbon,” said NRCS California State Conservationist Carlos Suarez. “Compost application improves plant health and crop yields, increases water retention and infiltration, and sequesters carbon. This effort helps create valuable soil amendments from diverse on-farm resources. It’s a win-win for California agriculture.”

The resource website launch falls during California’s Healthy Soils Week which continues through Dec. 10. Please visit the calendar of events focused on the value of soil and the benefits that healthy soil management practices, including compost, have for improving California’s drought resilience.

Learn more about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook and on Twitter.

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Originally Appeared Here

EPA plans to use first $1B from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to clear out the Superfund backlog and accelerate cleanup for dozens of additional Superfund projects

December 17, 2021

LENEXA, KAN. (DEC. 17, 2021)  – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a $1 billion investment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to initiate cleanup and clear the backlog of 49 previously unfunded Superfund sites, including the PCE Southeast Contamination Superfund Site in York, Nebraska. Until this historic investment, many of these were part of a backlog of hazardous waste sites awaiting funding.

“This work is just the beginning; with more than one in four Black and Hispanic Americans living within 3 miles of a Superfund site, EPA is working to serve people that have been left behind,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Approximately 60% of the sites to receive funding for new cleanup projects are in historically underserved communities. Communities living near many of the most serious uncontrolled or abandoned releases of contamination will finally get the protections they deserve.”

“Thanks to the funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA will be able to expedite work on these Superfund sites and deliver environmental results for the people of York, Nebraska,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Meghan A. McCollister. “We’re rolling up our sleeves and getting to work to accelerate cleanups at these sites and ensure that everyone lives in a healthy community, regardless of where it is or how big or small it may be.”

The PCE Southeast Contamination Site is located in York, Nebraska. Tetrachloroethene (PCE) and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including trichloroethene (TCE) and carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), have been identified in private drinking water wells at concentrations exceeding 5 micrograms per liter, which is the EPA maximum contaminant level for these VOCs. The remedy will treat PCE and TCE contamination in soil and prevent further impacts to the drinking water aquifer.

Learn more about the PCE Southeast Contamination Site.

The $1 billion investment is the first wave of funding from the $3.5 billion in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help cleanup polluted Superfund sites in communities. The backlog of previously unfunded sites that will now be receiving funding are in 24 states and territories and all 10 EPA regions, including some communities who have been waiting for cleanup for more than four years.

EPA is committed to carrying out this work in line with President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative by advancing environmental justice and incorporating equity considerations into all aspects of the Superfund cleanup process. This will help ensure that historic and ongoing impacts of contamination on overburdened communities are fully considered and addressed.

Administrator Regan visited the Lower Darby Creek Area site in Pennsylvania, one of the many sites with ongoing work that will receive a boost from the historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding. Along with new construction projects, infrastructure funds will be used to accelerate ongoing work and begin cleanup at additional Superfund sites in various stages of pre-construction and planning throughout the country.

These Superfund cleanup projects will make a visible and lasting difference in communities. In one Florida community, residents have been advocating for removal of creosote-contaminated soil in their neighborhood for years. At a New York site, lead-contaminated soil will be removed from people’s backyards. At a site in New Mexico, EPA will address the source area of a contaminated groundwater plume migrating towards a community.

The funds will supercharge the Superfund program to address the toll contaminated sites have on communities. EPA is finalizing cleanup plans and preparing funding mechanisms to get construction work started as soon as possible. More information about funding for backlogged sites and accelerated cleanup sites will be available in the coming weeks.

In 1980, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, known as Superfund, was passed. The novel law gave EPA the authority and funds to hold polluters accountable for cleaning up the most contaminated sites across the country. When no viable responsible party is found or cannot afford the cleanup, funds appropriated by Congress are used. A tax on chemical and petroleum industries provided funds to the Superfund Trust fund for Superfund cleanups up until 1995. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law reinstates the chemical excise taxes and invests an additional $3.5 billion in environmental remediation at Superfund sites, making it one of the largest investments in American history to address the legacy pollution that harms the public health of communities and neighborhoods.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is a once-in-a-generation investment that will create millions of jobs modernizing our infrastructure, turn the climate crisis into an opportunity, and put us on a path to win the economic competition for the 21st century. 

For more information and to see a list of the 49 sites to receive funding for new cleanup projects, please visit EPA’s website.

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Learn more about EPA Region 7

View all Region 7 news releases

Connect with EPA Region 7 on Facebook: www.facebook.com/eparegion7

Follow us on Twitter: @EPARegion7

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Originally Appeared Here