ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
laborative
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT PROGRAM
FY2003-2004 AWARDS
-------
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
COLLABORATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT PROGRAM
In March 2004, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Office of
Environmental Justice announced the projects selected for award through its
new Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative
Agreement Program. The Program awards cooperative agreements to affected local
community-based organizations seeking to address environmental and/or public
health concerns in their communities through constructive and collaborative prob-
lem-solving with other stakeholders, such as state and local governments, industry,
and other non-governmental organizations. Each of this year's 30 selected recipi-
ents were awarded $100,000 for use over a three-year period.
Using their program funding, the selected community-based organizations will
assess and quantify their communities' environmental and/or public health con-
cerns, build partnerships with other organizations, identify strategies, and work
towards ensuring safe and healthy communities.
The projects reflect the diverse environmental justice issues that affect communities
throughout the country, such as ensuring meaningful participation in urban rede-
velopment initiatives, reducing air pollution from local traffic or industrial sources,
raising awareness of safe fish consumption, and addressing high levels of lead poi-
soning in households.
Though diverse in location and goals, all of the projects conducted under the pro-
gram will share a common thread—use of the Environmental Justice Collaborative
Problem-Solving Model. Developed by the EPA Office of Environmental Justice,
the Model relies on the following seven key elements to address environmental jus-
tice concerns:
* Issue identification, community vision, and strategic goal-setting
* Community capacity-building
* Consensus-building and dispute resolution
* Multi-stakeholder partnerships and resource mobilization
* Supportive and facilitative role of government
* Management and implementation
* Evaluation, lessons learned, and replication of best practices
-------
To be eligible for this program, the applicant must be an "affected local community-
based organization? A local community-based organization is defined for this
Cooperative Agreement Program as an entity/organization that is: (1) at the most
basic level of the organizational hierarchy, such as a grassroots group/neighborhood
organization that is not affiliated with a larger national, regional, or state organiza-
tion; (2) located in the same area as the environmental and/or public health prob-
lem that is described in the application and where the residents of the affected
community reside; (3) focused primarily on addressing the environmental and/or
public health problems of the residents of the affected community; and (4) com-
prised primarily of members of the affected community. "Affected" is defined as
being in the locale which is influenced or altered by the environmental and/or
public health problems.
For more information, visit the Office of Environmental Justice Web page at:
.
-------
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT AWARD RECIPIENTS
REGION 1
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusei
New Hampshire, Rhode Island,
Vermont, & 10 Tribal Nations
Coalition for a Better Acre (CBA)
Project: Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Model
Location: Lowell, MA
Project Description: CBA will work with its partners to incorporate environmen-
tal and health considerations, and to involve disadvantaged communities into the
decision-making process of the City of Lowell's Master Plan for housing redevelop-
ment and revitalization. CBA will also work with community residents to encour-
age their use of natural, non-toxic cleaning products and practices to reduce expo-
sure to lead paint and decrease the incidence of asthma.
***
Pioneer Valley Project, Inc. (PVP)
Project: Vietnamese Nail Salon Health Project
Location: Springfield, MA
Project Description: PVP will work with its partners to develop city and state
regulations to protect and improve the health and safety of Vietnamese salon workers
exposed to the hazardous chemicals found in nail care products. PVP will also work
with nail care technicians to raise their awareness of best practices regarding the safe
use of these products.
REGION 2
New Jersey, New York,
Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands,
& 10 Tribal Nations
Make the Road by Walking (MRW)
Project: Bushwick Environment and Health Collaborative
Location: New York City, NY
Project Description: MRW and its partners will reexamine the environmental and
health needs of this low-income, predominantly Latino and African-American
community. The project intends to increase community and government involve-
ment by focusing on current community concerns that include high levels of lead
in drinking water, rat infestation, and illegal pesticides.
-------
United Community Centers, Inc. (UCC)
Project: Environmental Justice in East New York
Location: New York City, NY
Project Description: UCC will create an Environmental Council, composed of its
partners, to conduct air sampling tests in schools, apartments, and community
locations to determine the extent of indoor and outdoor air pollution in the com-
munity. The Council will help the community educate itself about asthma, asthma
triggers and allergens, and what can be done to minimize or eliminate indoor air
asthma triggers.
REGION 3
Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania,
Virginia, West Virginia,
& the District of Columbia
Baltimore Community for Environmental Justice (BCEJ)
Project: Community Involvement in Urban Redevelopment
Location: Baltimore, MD
Project Description: BCEJ, with their partners, will train community block monitors
to perform block assessments to minimize environmental and safety hazards present
during and after planned urban redevelopment activities. As part of the project, the
partners will develop health education materials and presentations, and convene
forums to be held in the community about environmental and public health issues.
Hands Across the Mountain, Inc. (HAM)
Project: Coal Country Water Quality and Environmental Justice Project
Location: Appalachia communities in VA
Project Description: HAM will work with a range of partners to identify and
characterize the environmental and public health issues associated with straight
pipe sewage and acid mine drainage, educate the community residents about the
environmental and health effects from these impacts, and work to develop and
implement the strategies necessary to successfully address these issues.
***
Park Reist Corridor Coalition, Inc. (PRCC)
Project: Park Heights Environmental Justice Project: Creating a Model
for Success
Location: Baltimore, MD
Project Description: PRCC, with its partners, will assist in the formation and
support of a trade organization to represent the community's auto body shop
owners in attaining regulatory compliance and understanding the impacts of
their solid waste and air emissions practices. In addition, the project will utilize
the city's master planning process to engage residents in an assessment of com-
munity environmental issues and resources for the positive development of the
Park Heights community.
-------
Village of Arts and Humanities, Inc. (VAH)
Project: Shared Prosperity Through Environmental Justice Initiative
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Project Description: VAH and its partners will engage communities in the
cleanup and improvement of vacant lots into green spaces and sustain their upkeep
through a recycling program to help reduce pollutants that contribute to commu-
nities' high asthma rates. This collaboration is expected to improve Philadelphia's
recycling rate and air quality.
Washington Village/Pigtown Neighborhood Planning Council (WVPNPC)
Project: Operation: Clean & Healthy Neighborhood
Location: Baltimore, MD
Project Description: WVPNPC, in collaboration with its partners, will imple-
ment a sanitation campaign that will establish a sanitation workgroup, distribute a
manual on proper trash disposal, offer residents information about free city transfer
stations, and share information about cleanup efforts to reduce trash and create
more green spaces throughout the community.
REGION 4
Alabama, Florida, Georgii
Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina,
South Carolina, Tennessee
Fresh Ministries, Inc. (FM)
Project: Community Centered Environmental Education & Cleanup In East
Jacksonville, Florida
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Project Description: FM and its partners will utilize the Protocol For Assessing
Community Excellence in Environmental Health (PACE EH) as a planning tool to
assist in the assessment of the environmental and public health needs of the East
Jacksonville community. Through a series of workshops, FM and its partners will
educate the residents who have been affected by environmental exposures from
industrial facilities in proximity to their neighborhoods.
***
Harambee House Inc. (HH)
Project: From Assessment to Action: Hudson Hill Community
Location: Savannah, GA
Project Description: HH will collaborate with its partners to establish a process
which includes a series of planning charettes, intensive workshops where people
come together to suggest solutions for complex planning issues. HH and its part-
ners intend to empower the community and other stakeholders to design a
Comprehensive Action Plan to address community health and environmental con-
cerns associated with pollution from a neighboring paper plant.
-------
Jesus People Against Pollution (JPAP)
Project: Community First-Building Bridges for Inclusion
Location: Columbia, MS
Project Description: JPAP will develop multi-stakeholder partnerships to formu-
late a "vision to action" for the impacted community. This vision will include an
action plan for the possible relocation of 1 50 to 200 families who surround the site
of a former chemical plant.
***
West Anniston Foundation (WAF)
Project: Health Education Coalition (HEC) Project
Location: Anniston, AL
Project Description: WAF and its partners will form the Health Education
Coalition. The Coalition will primarily focus on the development of a youth-driv-
en, community-based video to educate the youth and community about PCB
exposure under an overall health education agenda.
West End Revitalization Association (WERA)
Project: "Lack of Basic Amenities:" Links to Environmental and Health
Disparities in Low-Income and Minority Communities
Location: Mebane, NC
Project Description: With its partners, WERA will develop a collaborative process
that encourages measures for the installation of safe water and sewer services, the
clean up of toxic substance sites, and the improvement of air quality in Mebane s
low-income communities and other comparable communities that do not have
access to basic amenities. Grassroots training will assist residents in working collab-
oratively with local, state, and federal government officials.
REGION 5
Illinois, Indiana, A
Minnesota, Ohio,
Wisconsin
People for Community Recovery, Inc. (PCR)
Project: Environmental Justice for Altgeld Gardens, Chicago, Illinois
Location: Chicago, IL
Project Description: PCR and its partners will create an Environmental Justice
Research and Training Center that will provide skills development and job training
to residents. The center will also serve as a hub for strategizing with a variety of
stakeholders on the redevelopment of a "clean" industrial park and production of
educational materials focusing on environmental health.
-------
West Michigan Environmental Action Council (WMEAC)
Project: Community Organizing Project
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Project Description: WMEAC, in collaboration with its partners, will build the
capacity of citizen groups in order to develop and implement a "peer to peer" train-
ing curriculum on lead awareness. Participation in the development of the curricu-
lum will provide a practical and important opportunity for the citizen groups to
help shape a pro-active response to the issue of lead within their communities.
REGION 6
Arkansas, Louisiana,
New Mexico, Oklahoma,
Texas
Colonias Unidas (CU)
Project: Community Solid Waste Management Project
Location: Las Lomas, TX
Project Description: CU, along with its partners, will establish a program,
"Colonias Limpias," to address the problem of solid waste disposal in the predomi-
nantly poor, Spanish-speaking population and work for solutions. The program
will produce a report on city and county waste management practices and foster
community involvement to conduct cleanup efforts. Collaboration results are
expected to bring effective ideas for new relationships that will support the revital-
ization of Colonias.
Louisiana Environmental Justice Project (LEJP)
Project: New Orleans Lead Education and Advocacy Development (NO
LEAD) Capacity Building Project
Location: New Orleans, LA
Project Description: LEJP and its partners will establish a lead assessment pro-
gram to provide information that will be used to develop a Carpentry Pre-
Apprentice program for the community's young adults. The program will feature
training in how to properly address the renovation of homes with lead hazards.
***
Mothers for Clean Air (MfCA)
Project: Improving Environmental Quality Through Collaboration: Reducing
Exposure of SE Houston Residents
Location: Houston, TX
Project Description: MfCA will collaborate with local governments, universities,
citizen organizations, elected officials, and industries to reduce risk exposure from
air pollution. Southeast Houston residents will develop a "Citizens Air Quality
Tool Kit" for participants in a community-based air sampling program that will
identify pollutants of concern and provide an aid to regulatory agencies.
-------
REGION 7
Iowa, Kansas,
Missouri, Nebraska
Neighbors Assisting Neighbors (NAN)
Project: Mid-County Community Clean Sweep
Location: St. Louis, MO
Project Description: NAN, along with its partners, will develop the Mid-County
Community Clean Sweep project to coordinate 1 0 cleanup efforts throughout the
community targeting solid waste removal along river beds, on vacant lots, in alleys,
on problem properties, and in common areas, improving the area's environmental
outlook and promoting reuse and recycling through cleanup campaigns.
Oak Grove Neighborhood Association (OGNA)
Project: Back to the Park: Collaborative Problem-Solving on the Oak Grove
Community
Location: Kansas City, KS
Project Description: OGNA and its partners will create the "John Garland Park
Task Force" to organize the necessary stakeholders in the community-driven rede-
velopment initiative and to monitor progress toward the goal of reopening the
John Garland Park, a redeveloped landfill in the Oak Grove neighborhood that was
closed in the late 1980s due to environmental concerns related to gas venting and
water contamination.
REGION 8
Colorado, Montana, North Dakota,
South Dakota, Utah,
Wyoming
Bessemer Association for Neighborhood Development (BAND)
Project: Bessemer/Salt Creek Neighborhoods Environmental Health Initiative
Location: Bessemer and Salt Creek, CO
Project Description: BAND will work with its partnering communities and other
stakeholders to identify the range of environmental and public health issues facing
the communities. This collaboration will prioritize the issues and select one or two
issues to address with the other project partners.
-------
Groundwork Denver, Inc. (GD)
Project: The EJ Outreach Partnership
Location: Denver, CO
Project Description: GD and its partners will establish "Centre de Salud
Ambiental," a virtual center for environmental health that will provide environ-
mental and health information to residents and create new impetus for problem
resolutions in this diverse, Spanish-speaking community. The project aims to build
powerful relationships by encouraging and interacting with local government
and businesses.
REGION 9
Arizona, California,
Guam, Hawaii, Nevada
Anahola Homesteaders Council (AHC)
Project: Project Imua
Location: Kauai, HI
Project Description: AHC will work with its partners and the local community to
develop a Community Plan as a means of engaging in discussions with state and
municipal officials. The environmental and public health issues to be addressed
through site cleanup and redevelopment include water pollution and soil contami-
nation, as well as the socio-economic issues in Anahola.
Coalition for West Oakland Revitalization (CWOR)
Project: Neighborhood Environmental Indicators Project
Location: West Oakland, CA
Project Description: CWOR, in conjunction with its partners, will develop an
Environmental Justice Resource Center that will provide access to informational
materials and environmental indicator reports to educate residents on air quality
issues facing the community.
***
Marin County Grassroots Leadership Network (MCGLN)
Project: Marin Community Collaborative Project
Location: Marin City and San Rafael, CA
Project Description: MCGLN, in collaboration with its partners, will develop a
community action plan to mitigate cancer risk factors identified by a hands-on
study project on the incidence of cancer in the Canal and Marin City neighbor-
hoods. The project will be facilitated by experienced consultants and will involve
different activities including leadership training for community members.
-------
Pacoima Beautiful (PB)
Project: Pacoima Lead Poisoning Prevention Community Program
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Project Description: PB, along with its partners, will produce and distribute a
report on the findings from health care provider and housing surveys. The report
will advocate more lead control and increase community capacity of residents to
access educational and screening services regarding lead hazards in Pacoima. The
project will encourage a long-term, multi-partnership engagement to support com-
munity health revitalization.
REGION 10
Alaska, Idaho,
Oregon, Washington
Community Coalition for Environmental Justice (CCEJ)
Project: Health and Environmental Collaborative Project
Location: Seattle, WA
Project Description: CCEJ, in conjunction with its partners, will create an action
plan that will enhance communication, outreach, and education regarding air qual-
ity issues in three disproportionately impacted neighborhoods. Activities will
include the development of reports and fact sheets and the creation of a handbook
for environmental health specialists and educators.
10
Indochinese Cultural and Service Center (ICSC)
Project: Asian Pacific Islander Environmental Awareness Project
Location: Pierce County, \CA
Project Description: ICSC will work with its partners to establish state and local
government policies and procedures for beach monitoring. The project will also
produce a beach closure management plan that can be replicated and can success-
fully reach out to communities with limited English proficiency. ICSC will also
work with partners to raise the Asian and Pacific Islander communities' awareness
of safe and sustainable shellfish harvesting.
***
Portland Northern Neighborhood Quality Coalition (EJAG)
Project: Build Collaborative Group to Address EJ Issues in Northern Sector of
Portland to Improve Air Quality
Location: Portland, OR
Project Description: EJAG and its partners will establish the "Portland Northern
Neighborhoods Air Quality Coalition" to investigate and implement sustainable
solutions to eliminate the disproportionate air pollution problems faced by resi-
dents caused by diesel fuel emissions. The process will include the creation of a
video and community-based education program to increase understanding of air
quality issues, the health impacts on the community, and the sustainable solutions.
------- |