Inflation Reduction Act
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Advancing Environmental Justice

Through the Inflation Reduction Act, EPA will improve the lives of millions of Americans by reducing pollution in neighborhoods where people live, work, play, and go to school; accelerating environmental justice efforts in communities overburdened by pollution for far too long; and tackling our biggest climate challenges while creating jobs and delivering energy security.

Here’s how the Inflation Reduction Act will advance environmental justice.

Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund - $27 billion

EPA will provide financing to support greenhouse gas reduction projects in communities, especially those that are low-income and disadvantaged, and with   institutions that would not otherwise gain access to capital. Funding will go to states, Tribes, local governments, and nonprofit green banks to support projects that reduce climate pollution, cleaner air, and healthier communities.

Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grants - $3 Billion

EPA will empower community efforts to confront and overcome persistent pollution challenges in underserved communities that have often led to worse health and economic outcomes over decades. This new program will aggressively advance environmental justice and support projects like community-led air pollution monitoring, prevention and remediation; mitigating climate and health risks from extreme heat and wildfires; climate resiliency and adaptation; and reducing indoor air pollution.

Protecting Children - $50 Million

EPA will provide grants and technical assistance to schools serving low-income communities, and the organizations that support them, to address environmental issues, develop school environmental quality plans, mitigate ongoing air pollution hazards, and improve health and safety for students and staff.

Clean Ports - $3 Billion

Ports can be a significant source of diesel pollution, and those living near ports that bear the brunt of this pollution are often people of color and low-income families. This program provides funding for zero-emission port equipment and technology and to help ports develop climate action plans. This will ensure that our nation’s ports, a critical part of our infrastructure and supply chain, helps address public health and environmental impacts on surrounding communities.

Superfund Petroleum Tax - $11.7 Billion

The Superfund Program at EPA cleans up some of the most contaminated sites in the country under the principle that the “polluter pays.” The IRA reinstates the Superfund petroleum tax, adjusts the tax rate for inflation, and adds a cost-of-living adjustment for future years, ensuring that polluters are held accountable for the true cost of clean-up work. This is expected to generate $11.7 billion in revenue over the next decade. 

Enforcement Technology - $25 Million

EPA will work to hold polluters accountable and support state partners. The Inflation Reduction Act puts $25 million toward improving enforcement technology, including modernizing functionality in our Integrated Compliance Information System (ICIS); providing grants to states to modernize their systems to be able to link into EPA; and developing smart tools for field inspections.  The improved enforcement technology can be used to target enforcement efforts to enforce several of the nation’s environmental laws including the Clean Water Act (CWA), Clean Air Act (CAA) and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

Cleaner Emissions from Trucks and Heavy-Duty Vehicles - $1 Billion

The Inflation Reduction Act invests $1 billion to replace dirty heavy-duty vehicles with clean, zero-emission vehicles, support zero-emission vehicle infrastructure, and to train and develop workers.

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Last updated on March 7, 2023