EPA kicks off effort to help communities use climate, environmental justice funds – GWC Mag

Dive Brief:

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday launched an initiative to help communities better understand how they can use the Inflation Reduction Act and other federal funding opportunities for local climate and environmental justice projects.
• The initiative kicks off Nov. 6 with a six-day “national virtual open house” event, which will feature virtual panels and fireside chats with environmental leaders and experts discussing ideas to address environmental pollution and climate change challenges with available federal funding. 
• The EPA launched a new website as part of the initiative, with information on different funding opportunities and resources. The agency will also hit the road starting this winter for in-person “roadshow” events to help potential grant applicants and community leaders explore funding opportunities and build community-based partnerships.

Dive Insight:

“We now have the largest investments in climate action and environmental justice in U.S. history,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement, referring to the Inflation Reduction Act. The Biden administration and other leaders often use words like “historic” and “once in a lifetime” to describe current federal funding opportunities available to communities. 

However, state and local leaders are largely the ones in charge of deciding the real-world impact of such investments. And communities with less staff and technical expertise often have a more challenging time accessing such funding. 

The “national virtual open house” to start Monday will cover topics including air pollution in schools, technical assistance, green jobs, electric vehicle infrastructure, youth and rural communities.

The “Community, Equity & Resiliency” initiative website links to a list of all current and upcoming EPA funding opportunities from the 2021 infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act. The list shows each opportunity’s funding amount, funding type, applicant eligibility, opening date and closing date. Also on the website is an interactive map showing which communities have received EPA funding from the 2021 infrastructure law, including the type of funding and how much the community received.