EPA Environmental Justice Grants Fund Projects in 28 States

Under the Environmental Justice Small Grants Program, 40 grants, up to $20,000 each, are going to community organizations and local and tribal governments in 28 states for projects aimed at addressing environmental and public health issues.

"These grants mark the beginning of a full-scale revitalization of what we do and how we think about environmental justice," said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson today.

"Environmental justice is not an issue we can afford to relegate to the margins. It has to be part of our thinking in every decision we make," she said.

Grant recipients will use the money to create healthy, sustainable communities through dozens of local projects aligned with Jackson's top five priorities - improving air quality, managing chemical risks, cleaning up hazardous waste disposal sites, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting water.

Projects were funded in all of the EPA's 10 regions, in rural and in urban areas, dealing with environmental contamination at home and at work.

In Albuquerque, New Mexico, the American Indian Law Center received a grant to increase tribal community outreach and education by publishing workshop material on state permitting processes and environmental justice.

The Mountain View Neighborhood Association of Albuquerque will use its grant to develop resident-friendly, air quality permit documents educating residents and businesses on the proper disposal of hazardous waste, and reviewing the impact hazardous waste has on the environment.

Louisiana refinery (Photo by Danger Mills)

The City of Alton, Texas and the Center for Community Health Development were awarded a grant to develop a replicable training program for indigenous community health workers to educate residents on solid waste disposal, clean water protection, disease prevention and environmental protection.

The Louisiana Bucket Brigade of New Orleans will utilize its grant to increase community outreach and education on unauthorized discharges to the air and water from Louisiana refineries. The group will research incident reports from Louisiana refiners from 2005 through 2008, establish a community outreach forum to review monthly incident data and share findings with neighboring refineries.

One of the EPA Environmental Justice grants awarded today will help Denver's low-income Latino immigrant community reduce energy consumption and learn about ways to reduce their environmental footprint.

"Colorado's minority and low-income communities need support as they develop the capacity to respond to human health and environmental issues," said Art Palomares, director of EPA's Environmental Justice program in Denver. "This grant will help the community better understand the potential impacts of climate change and will support efforts to reduce utility bills and greenhouse gas emissions."

Groundwork Denver aims to empower the community to reduce air pollution and properly dispose of household toxic substances, while providing comprehensive education on mitigating and adapting to the potential future environmental and public health impacts of climate change.

In Providence, Rhode Island, 15 young people from the Hartford Park Public Housing Project will create two 30-second public service announcement videos, one in English and one in Spanish, on the threats to human health posed by common household cleaning products under the direction of grant recipient Rhode Island Legal Services, Inc. They will also create a 5-minute video on how solid waste and trash contribute to poor living and health conditions in low-income neighborhoods.

In Newark, New Jersey, Green Faith received a grant to study air pollution and identify truck routes related to operations at Port Newark. Toxic releases from this area will be identified by community youth and adult residents. Green Faith will conduct outreach and education on the study results to Newark community and faith-based organizations. An Environmental Health and Justice Tour will be conducted for Newark residents, and the project will provide the foundation for a long-range, comprehensive greening of Port Newark.

In Kincaid, West Virginia, the Southern Appalachian School received a grant to provide literature, house calls and the opportunity for residents of rural coal camp communities to attend meetings on the consequences of lead and mercury contamination in human bodies from dental work, construction materials, water supply and soil. In collaboration with partners and families, lead and mercury exposures will be identified and addressed.

In Tillery, North Carolina, the NC Environmental Justice Network was awarded a grant to help communities and health care providers in five rural counties of eastern North Carolina reduce the environmental health impacts of confined animal feeding operations. The project will assist communities in organizing landowners, testing and analyzing wells for groundwater pollution, and to advocate for local decision-making to implement cleanup and repair efforts on community wells or access public water lines.

In Chicago, the Metropolitan Tenants Organization received a grant to educate low-income individuals in rental buildings throughout Chicago about lead poisoning, pests, pesticide use and their rights as tenants. The project aims to reach up to 1,000 renters living in up to 70 larger multi-unit buildings.

In Kansas City, Missouri, Legal Aid of Western Missouri was awarded a grant to reduce the risk of lead poisoning from house paint, lead-containing toys, and other sources. Legal Aid intends to increase environmental literacy and meaningful involvement by facilitating sessions "Planeta Para Todos," to help migrant families to develop a more comprehensive understanding while empowering them to practice preventative measures.

In Tonalea, Arizona, Forgotten People CDC received a grant to identify practical solutions for the Diné communities in the western regions of the Navajo Nation in homes without access to piped water that require water to be hauled and stored on premises. The data from the assessment phase will be useful in identifying and quantifying problems, and all stakeholders will then work together in transforming this information into an effective action plan to improve and provide safe access to drinking water.

In Seattle, the Farm Worker Pesticide Project will use its grant to provide information to farmworkers, their families and communities on the public health impacts of pesticide exposures and actions they can take to protect themselves from exposure. Further, it aims to educate workers on mitigations and alternatives to pesticide use, while informing them about the public policy processes governing pesticide regulation.

And in Barrow, Alaska, the farthest north community in the United States, the Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope received a grant to work towards ensuring that local people have a voice in the decision making on oil and gas development projects in their village and the offshore area adjacent to it, upon which they depend. This will be achieved by identifying and documenting subsistence practices of local indigenous people, identifying the marine resources upon which they depend, and incorporating that information into the development planning process, at an early stage.

Financial assistance under the EPA Environmental Justice Small Grants Program is available to any nonprofit organization designated by the IRS or recognized by the state, territory, commonwealth or tribe in which it is located; city, township, county government and their entities; or federally recognized Native American tribal governments.

In the 15 years since the program began, EPA has awarded more than $20 million in funding to assist 1,130 community-based organizations and local and tribal governments.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2009. All rights reserved.