$2 Billion to Fund Environmental and Climate Justice
Community Change Grants as Part of Investing in America Agenda
EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights
announces the largest single investment in environmental justice in history,
funded by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act
The Biden-Harris administration announced approximately $2 billion in
funding available to support community-driven projects that deploy clean energy,
strengthen climate resilience, and build capacity for communities to tackle
environmental and climate justice challenges. The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency’s (EPA’s) Community Change Grants are the single largest investment in
environmental justice going directly to communities in history, and will advance
collaborative efforts to achieve a healthier, safer, and more prosperous future
for all. These funds, part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, are
made possible by the President’s Inflation Reduction Act—the biggest-ever
investment in clean energy and climate action.
“Throughout my Journey to Justice tour, I’ve heard from residents and
advocates calling for resources to support local solutions in communities that
have long been overlooked and forgotten,” said EPA Administrator Michael
S. Regan. “Today, thanks to President Biden’s commitment to investing
in communities that have long struggled to access federal funding, we are
delivering on these calls to action. This historic, unprecedented funding has
the promise to turn disadvantaged and overburdened areas into healthy,
resilient, and thriving communities for current and future generations.”
“For far too long, communities that have borne the brunt of power
plant and industrial pollution have been left out and left behind,” said
John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the President for Clean Energy Innovation and
Implementation. “The Inflation Reduction Act and President Biden’s
Justice40 initiative change that by bringing new investment, clean energy, and
good-paying jobs to disadvantaged communities.”
“President Biden is leading a whole-of-government effort to confront
longstanding environmental injustices and inequities,” said
White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Brenda
Mallory. “Thanks to this historic funding covered under the President’s
Justice40 Initiative, we are investing in locally-driven solutions to make a
positive difference for communities that have suffered from pollution,
underinvestment, and decades of disproportionate environmental impacts.
Investments like these show how we are delivering on the President’s ambitious
environmental justice agenda and his commitment to build more equitable and
resilient communities for generations to come.”
The Community Change Grants deliver on President Biden's historic
commitment to advance equity and justice, including his Justice40 Initiative. The Community Change Grants
will deliver 100 percent of the benefits of this program to disadvantaged
communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by
pollution. This program also dedicates $200 million of Inflation Reduction Act
funding to provide technical assistance to applicants and grant recipients,
which will enhance the ability of disadvantaged communities to access resources
for environmental and climate justice activities.
The activities to be performed under the grants are expected to fall
under the following categories:
- Climate
resiliency and adaptation.
- Mitigating
climate and health risks from urban heat islands, extreme heat, wood heater
emissions, and wildfire events.
- Community-led
air and other (including water and waste) pollution monitoring, prevention, and
remediation.
- Investments
in low- and zero-emission and resilient technologies and related infrastructure.
- Workforce
development that supports the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and other
air pollutants.
- Reducing
indoor toxics and indoor air pollution.
- Facilitating
the engagement of disadvantaged communities in state and federal advisory
groups, workshops, rulemakings, and other public processes.
The Community Change Grants Notice of Funding Opportunity
(NOFO), administered through the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil
Rights (OEJECR), has several unique characteristics to advance environmental
and climate justice, many of which are responsive to feedback and input the
agency has heard from communities. These include:
- Rolling
Applications: The NOFO will be open for a year, closing on November
21, 2024, and EPA will review applications on a rolling basis. This allows
applicants to utilize technical assistance and possibly resubmit a new
application if not initially selected. EPA encourages applicants to apply as
early as possible.
- Two-track
Submission Processes: Applications can be submitted under two
separate tracks depending on the project scope and funding requested.
- Track
I, Community-Driven Investments for Change, is expected to award approximately
$1.96 billion for 150 projects for $10-20 million each.
- Track
II, Meaningful Engagement for Equitable Governance, is expected to award
approximately $40 million for 20 projects for $1-3 million each.
- Oral
Presentations: Track I applicants may also be invited to
participate in an oral presentation. These oral presentations will enable EPA
reviewers to hear directly from the applicants and their partners to learn more
about community priorities, desired outcomes, and plans for long-term
sustainability. This new format is responsive to community requests to engage
with EPA in more accessible ways.
- Target
Investment Areas: Out of the $2 billion in funding, EPA has
identified five Target Investment Areas (TIA) to help ensure that communities
with unique circumstances, geography, and needs can equitably compete for
funding. These are:
- Tribes
in Alaska: $150 million for projects benefitting Indian Tribes in
Alaska including funds for cleanup of contaminated lands.
- Tribes:
$300 million for projects benefitting Tribal communities in the other
states.
- Territories:
$50 million for projects benefitting disadvantaged communities in the
United States’ territories of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American
Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
- Disadvantaged
Unincorporated Communities: $50 million for projects benefitting small
and rural areas that lack fixed, legally determined geographic boundaries, such
as Colonias.
- U.S.-Southern
Border Communities: Consistent with EPA’s longstanding commitment to
addressing transborder pollution challenges, $100 million for projects
benefitting non-Tribal disadvantaged communities within 100 kilometers north of
the U.S.-Mexico border.
- Technical
Assistance: The $200 million for technical assistance is available
in direct response to feedback from communities and environmental justice
leaders who have long called for capacity building support for communities and
their partners as they work to access critical federal resources. With this
funding, there are two TA programs dedicated for the Community Change Grants.
Applicants can learn more about, and express interest in, the technical
assistance on EPA’s Community Change Grants Technical Assistance
webpage.
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