EPA Offers $100M in Environmental Justice Grant Funding
The history-making amount of funding will support community-based nonprofits, governments, tribes and territories.
- By Alex Saurman
- Jan 20, 2023
The EPA has announced the availability of $100 million in grants for environmental justice.
According to a news release, the $100 million—the highest funding for environmental justice grants in the EPA’s history—will be offered through two programs, the Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS) Cooperative Agreement Program and the Environmental Justice Government-to-Government (EJG2G) Program.
“Every American deserves access to clean air and water—no matter their zip code, the color of their skin or the size of their paycheck,” said Senator Tammy Duckworth in the news release. “That’s why, as co-founder of the Senate’s Environmental Justice Caucus, I’m proud to announce today’s grant funding, which will help deliver results for environmental justice communities that have been ignored for too long. Access to clean air and clean water isn’t ‘only’ an environmental issue—it’s a matter of health and safety, systemic racism and persistent discrimination against those in low-income communities. I’m hopeful that today, we’re making important advances toward ending this crisis.”
Thirty million dollars in the form of 50 $500,000 awards and 30 $150,000 awards will be available under the EJCPS Cooperative Agreement Program, which offers funding for "projects to address local environmental and/or public health issues,” for community-based nonprofit organizations, according to the news release. More than 15 percent of the funding ($5 million) will go towards smaller nonprofits, or those with no greater than five full-time workers.
The EJG2G Program is meant to “support and/or create model state activities that lead to measurable environmental or public health results in communities disproportionately burdened by environmental harms and risks.” This program will provide funding for various governments, tribes and territories that will work with community-based organization partners. Of the $70 million funding under the program, a total of $60 million, or $20 million each, will be reserved for state governments, local governments and Federally Recognized Tribal Nations. An additional $10 million will go to “U.S. territories and remote tribes with limited access to CBO partners,” according to the news release.
Proposal packages are due by April 10, 2023.
Webinars for people to ask questions will be available on January 24 and January 26. Those interested must register for each webinar.
“This call for applications ensures money can flow directly to communities that need it most by splitting the funding between community based non-profits as well as the states, localities, tribes, and territories that usually receive federal grants,” said U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer in the news release.
Correction: The first quote in the article was incomplete. The quote has been updated to reflect what was stated in the press release.
About the Author
Alex Saurman is the Content Editor for Environmental Protection.