EPA Community Grants Available to Protect Public Health and the Environment in New England
BOSTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making grants available for New England communities to support EPA's mission to protect human health and the environment.
EPA New England's Healthy Communities Grant Program is accepting applications for projects that will benefit one or more New England communities. The deadline to submit an application is May 14, 2021 at 11:59 PM. EPA intends to award 10 cooperative agreements, for a combined total of $300,000 under this funding opportunity. The Healthy Communities Grant Program is a unique EPA New England grant program which works directly with communities to reduce environmental risks, protect and improve human health and the quality of life, advance resilience, and preserve and restore important ecosystems.
"EPA is proud to continue investing in New England organizations who make a difference in the health of our local communities," said EPA New England Acting Regional Administrator Deborah Szaro. "Past recipients have done important work in areas such as pollution prevention, finding solutions to reducing food waste, and addressing lead exposure for children. These Healthy Communities grants provide an opportunity for local groups and leaders to identify and address areas of concern in their community and demonstrates how EPA can work closely with these organizations to advance public health protection."
Eligible projects under this program must be located in or directly impact one or more of the three "target investment areas," (areas needing to create community resilience; environmental justice areas of potential concern; or sensitive populations). Proposals must also identify how the proposed project will achieve measurable environmental or public health results in one or more of the six "target program areas" (clean, green, and healthy schools; energy efficiency; healthy tribal drinking water quality; healthy indoor environments; healthy outdoor environments; and/or pollution prevention).
Full descriptions of the target investment and target program areas can be found in the 2021 Healthy Communities Grant Program Request for Applications.
Eligible applicants include state and local governments, public nonprofit institutions or organizations, private nonprofit institutions or organizations, quasi-public nonprofit institutions or organizations, federally recognized Indian Tribal Governments, K-12 schools or school districts; and non-profit organizations, such as grassroots and community-based organizations. Funding will be considered for a college or university to support a project with substantial community or tribal involvement.
To help answer questions from prospective applicants, the Healthy Communities Grant Program will host three webinars before the applications are due. The information sessions are being offered April 1, April 6, and April 15, 2021. These information sessions are optional, but RSVPs are required. A registration form can be found in the Request for Applications.
More information:
- 2021 New England Healthy Communities Grant Program Request for Applications:
https://www3.epa.gov/region1/eco/uep/grants_2021hc.html - Additional background on EPA's New England Healthy Community Grants: https://www3.epa.gov/region1/eco/uep/hcgp.html