Biden-Harris Administration announces nearly $4.2 million for environmental justice projects in communities across Massachusetts as part of Investing in America agenda
Selections announced as part of largest investments through EPA's Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving Cooperative Agreement & Environmental Justice Government-to-Government grant programs funded by President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act
BOSTON (Oct. 24, 2023) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced nearly $4.2 million to fund seven projects across Massachusetts that advance environmental justice as part of President Biden's Investing in America agenda. The organizations, which EPA has selected through its Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving Cooperative Agreement and Environmental Justice Government-to-Government programs, will use the funds to ensure disadvantaged communities that have historically suffered from underinvestment have access to clean air and water and climate resilience solutions in alignment with the Biden-Harris administration's Justice40 Initiative.
Thanks to President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act—the largest climate investment in U.S. history—this funding is a part the largest investment ever announced under these two longstanding EPA programs. This is the first in a series of environmental justice grant announcements the agency will announce before the end of the year.
"No President has invested more in environmental justice than President Biden, and under his leadership we're removing longstanding barriers and meaningfully collaborating with communities to build a healthier future for all," said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. "Together, these community-driven projects will improve the health, equity, and resilience of communities while setting a blueprint for local solutions that can be applied across the nation."
"EPA strongly believes that historically disadvantaged and overburdened communities must have a place at the table as we work toward climate and environmental justice. Successful environmental justice programs are built with community collaboration, common goals, and community empowerment," said EPA New England Regional Administrator David Cash. "Across New England, these selectees are poised to catalyze lasting change and make a profound difference, bringing cleaner air and water to their communities, combatting climate change, creating green jobs, and improving environmental health. We eagerly anticipate the enduring impact the grants in Massachusetts will have in our region, advancing our common goal of environmental justice."
"The climate crisis isn't just on our doorsteps, it is in our classrooms and our homes, and it doesn't hit our communities equally from Boston to Springfield," said Senator Markey. "I applaud the EPA for awarding more than $2 million to environmental justice communities across Massachusetts so that all Bay Staters can breathe clean air, stay healthy and safe, save their hard-earned money, and put the principles of the Green New Deal revolution into practice to lower costs and save our planet."
"More communities than ever are on the front lines of fighting climate change," Congressman James P. McGovern (D-MA) said. "This grant to Amherst's Hitchcock Center for the Environment will expand the Commonwealth's Healthy Air Network in the Connecticut River Valley, acknowledging the specific struggles facing rural communities. Poor air quality and extreme heat don't just affect our health, but can hurt our food system, wildlife, and other parts of our ecosystem. Engaging in this work means we are committed to long-overdue investments in the environment and to creating a better world for our children and grandchildren."
"Just over a year after I voted for the Inflation Reduction Act, this landmark law is delivering for communities across Massachusetts," said Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03). "Through the leadership of the Nashua River Watershed Association and backed by the collaborative efforts of community partners throughout the North Central region, this grant funding will reduce pollution and support green workforce development in Fitchburg. I'm proud to see President Biden's Investing in America agenda supporting community-led solutions to address the climate crisis, and I look forward to continuing to partner across state and local levels to maximize these investments for our district."
The grants announced today deliver on President Biden's commitment to advance equity and justice throughout the United States. The two grant programs directly advance the President's transformational Justice40 initiative to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
The Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving(EJCPS)Program
EPA's EJCPS program provides financial assistance to eligible organizations working to address local environmental or public health issues in their communities. The program builds upon President Biden's Executive Orders 13985 and 14008, creating a designation of funds exclusively for small nonprofit organizations, which are defined as having 5 or fewer full-time employees, thus ensuring that grant resources reach organizations of lower capacity that historically struggle to receive federal funding. Eleven of the organizations selected for EJCPS this year are small nonprofit organizations, receiving over $1.6 million in total.
EPA EJCPS grant selections in Massachusetts:
- Health Resources in Action in Boston, MA has been selected to receive $500,000 for building knowledge and capacity to improve environmental health conditions within Mass. schools, optimizing outcomes related to healthy childhood development, particularly for districts where students are most burdened by asthma and extreme heat.
- Mystic River Watershed Association in Arlington, MA has been selected to receive $500,000 for convening stakeholders in Chelsea, Everett, and Malden, Mass., three highly urbanized cities in the Mystic River Watershed, to develop resident-led policy, systems, and environmental interventions to increase resilience to extreme heat, reducing conditions that exacerbate respiratory incidents and emergency room visits caused by heat.
- Nashua River Watershed Association, Inc. in Groton, MA has been selected to receive $500,000 for implementing green infrastructure solutions in Fitchburg, Mass., to address open space access, stormwater management, and heat island issues, utilizing natural structures and processes like riparian buffer zones, rain gardens, bio swales, pocket forests, bio retention structures, and permeable pavement, with the aim of reducing stormwater runoff, improving water quality, and providing increased access to green spaces and improved air quality.
- Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health in Boston, MA has been selected to receive $150,000 for engaging, educating, and organizing Boston Public School youth through youth-led workshops held in classrooms, clubs, and after-school programs. This will help build their collective power and influence over repairs, renovations, and new construction in the school district. They also will conduct a Health Impact Assessment based on project recommendations.
- Hitchcock Center for the Environment in Amherst, MA has been selected to receive $500,000 for expanding and deepening community-based air pollution monitoring, training and education in the Connecticut River Valley region by adding rural communities to the urban partners already engaged in the Healthy Air Network, incorporating extreme heat as a related climate risk, and supporting youth engagement and action.
Environmental Justice Government-to-Government (EJG2G)
EPA's EJG2G provides funding at the state, local, territorial, and Tribal level to support government activities in partnership with community-based organizations that lead to measurable environmental or public health impacts in communities disproportionately burdened by environmental harms.
EPA EJG2G grant selections in Massachusetts:
- The City of Boston has been selected to receive $1 million for improving indoor air quality and electric infrastructure of properties in Dorchester, Mass. by replacing gas stoves with electric coil ranges and induction stoves, promoting environmental benefits, green job opportunities, and addressing public health concerns such as asthma in the community.
- Massachusetts Department of Public Health has been selected to receive $1 million for achieving measurable and meaningful improvements in asthma outcomes through the reduction of home environmental asthma triggers in Springfield, Holyoke, and Chicopee, Mass., leveraging various funding sources and providing in-home environmental remediations to address the needs of vulnerable residents and communities.
Additional Background:
From day one of his administration, President Biden has made achieving environmental justice a top priority. And in August 2022, Congress passed, and President Biden signed, the Inflation Reduction Act into law, creating the largest investment in environmental and climate justice in U.S. history. EPA received $3 billion in appropriations to provide grants and technical assistance for activities advancing environmental and climate justice.
Under the Inflation Reduction Act, EPA has launched and expanded innovative programs to provide more support than ever before to communities that unjustly bear the burdens of environmental harm and pollution. This includes the $177 million for the creation of 16 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (EJ TCTACs) to remove barriers to federal resources and help communities pursue funding opportunities like those made available through President Biden's Investing in America Agenda. EPA has also launched and will award funds through the $550 million Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program before the end of 2023.
To learn more about environmental justice at EPA, visit: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice