US EPA Publication #909-R-99-002
Highlighting
Success:
The Region 9
Environment
]u$fice
Small Grant
Program
Fiscal /can 1994 lo 1999
-------
inted on recycled, recyclable paper
'
-------
Table of Contents
Section I
Helping Empower Communities
The Environmental Justice Program at EPA Region 9: pages 2-3
What is Environmental Justice?
The EPA Environmental Justice Program
The Role of Environmental Justice Small Grants
Purpose of this report
Section II
Small Grants, Big Results
The Environmental Justice Program at EPA Region 9: page 4
Success Stories models of action for communities: pages 4-8
10 Ways $20,000 (or less) Has Made a Big Difference: page 9
Grant products examples of videos, workbooks, curricula: pages 10-11
What we heard grant recipients speak for themselves: page 12-13
On the value of partnerships
On the value of community involvement
On enhanced communication
On leveraging other support
On raising awareness about environmental issues
Progress on Presidential Executive Order # 12898 on Environmental Justice: pages 14-16
Appendix A: Descriptions of projects funded, 1994 - 1998: pages 17-26
Appendix B: Budget summary: page 27
-------
SECTION I
Helping Empower Communities
The Environmental Justice Program at EPA Region 9
Executive Order
#12898 on
Environmental
Justice was signed
by President Clinton
in February 1994 to
focus Federal
attention on the
environmental and
human health
conditions in minority
populations and low-
income populations.
Environmental justice is defined by the U.S. EPA as the fair treatment and meaningful
involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the
development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.
Fair treatment means that no groups of people, including racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic
groups, should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences
resulting from industrial, municipal, and commercial operations or the execution of federal, state,
local, and tribal programs and policies.
- EPA Environmental Justice Strategy, 1992
What is Environmental Justice?
People who talk about environmental justice
imagine all communities having an equally
high degree of environmental protection; when
safe and healthy environments for people to
live, to work and to play in are universal. But
we have not yet reached that point. The goal of
environmental justice is to ensure that all
people, regardless of race, national origin or
income are protected from the impacts of
environmental hazards. Environmental justice
is about real people facing real problems and
designing practical solutions to address
challenging environmental issues.
Environmental Justice communities are
identified as those where residents are pre-
dominantly minorities or low-income; where
residents have been excluded from the
environmental policy setting or decision
making process; where they are subject to a
disproportionate impact from one or more
environmental hazards; and where residents
experience disparate implementation of
environmental regulations, requirements,
practices and activities in their communities.
The environmental justice movement was
started by people, primarily people of color,
who sought to address the inequity of environ-
mental protection services in their communi-
ties. Grounded in the struggles of the 1960s
civil rights movement, citizens from many
walks of life emerged to bring attention to the
environmental inequities facing millions of
underrepresented people. Communities rose
to sound the alarm about public health hazards
which posed an immediate danger to the lives
of their families, their communities and them-
selves.
The EPA Environmental Justice
Program
In 1992, EPA created the Office of Environ-
mental Justice (OEJ) and local programs in
each of the ten regions to address environ-
mental justice issues. Subsequently, Executive
Order #12898 titled "Federal Actions to
Address Environmental Justice in Minority
Populations and Low-Income Populations" was
signed by the President on February 11, 1994
with the goal of achieving environmental
protection for all communities.
Since its beginning in 1992, the Environmental
Justice program in Region 9 has grown
dramatically. The program currently has seven
full-time staff, as well as liaisons in each of the
regions' divisions. The mainstay of the pro-
gram has always been providing direct finan-
cial assistance to communities through the
Environmental Justice Small Grant Program.
In addition, the Region 9 Environmental
Justice Team provides technical advice and
consultation to community residents and
brings issues of concern to the attention of
relevant EPA Divisions and staff. An additional
critical part of the Team's work is providing
leadership on Environmental Justice to other
Federal agencies. The team works to make
the Federal government's resources available
to communities in need.
For more information on Environmental
Justice, call the Region 9 information line at
415/744-1565 or check the Internet for a large
selection of sites dedicated to Environmental
Justice. The EPA's Environmental Justice Web
page is located at
.
2 Highlighting Success: the Region 9 Environmental Justice Small Grant Program. Fiscal Years 1994-99. U.S Environmental Protection Agency Publication #909-R-99-002
-------
The Role of Environmental Justice
Small Grants
The Small Grant Program was started five
years ago to provide financial assistance to
community-based and grassroots organiza-
tions, churches, or other non-profit organiza-
tions and federally recognized tribal govern-
ments that are working to address environmen-
tal justice issues in their communities. (For a
complete summary of the national and regional
budgets, see Appendix B.) The program
focuses on ensuring that the people who are
most affected by environmental problems can
be leaders in identifying and implementing
solutions.
The specific goal of this grant program is to
support projects in low-income communities
and communities of color that are working to:
1. Identify necessary improvements in
communication
and coordination among all stakeholders; to
facilitate better communication and information
exchange; and to create partnerships among
stakeholders.
2. Build the capacity of communities
to identify local environmental justice issues;
and enhance critical thinking, problem-solving,
and participation by affected communities.
3. Enhance community understanding of
environmental and public health
information
and generate new information on pollution in
low income communities or communities of
color.
The Purpose of this Report
This report highlights how EPA Region 9's
Small Grant Program is helping to promote
environmental justice in communities that are
disproportionately impacted by environmental
problems. Many of these projects fill a gap in
environmental protection that is not being
addressed by EPA, state or local agencies, or
other organizations. This report highlights
successful projects as models for communi-
ties facing similar problems or issues.
Another goal of this report is to show how
these small federal investments in communi-
ties yield significant results. This relatively
small amount of money dedicated to low-
income communities and communities of color
has gone a long way towards effective imme-
diate action and long term solutions to envi-
ronmental problems. This report highlights the
progress made in reaching environmental
justice goals and the many other results of the
program.
The EPA Region 9 Environmental Justice
Team also interviewed representatives of
approximately 20 organizations who have
completed projects funded through the
Environmental Justice Small Grant Program in
order to find out how successfully they met
their objectives. Final reports submitted by
grant recipients, as well as newsletters and
other products produced with the funds,
contributed to this evaluation of the first five
years of the program. This report highlights
the feedback gained through this evaluation.
We believe this report provides a strong case
for continuing this effective small grant pro-
gram.
BorderLinks
. nJ
N0
.TAM
El
P
^A '
"Working with
organizations
through the
environmental justice
small grant program
has provided EPA
with an invaluable
education about
environmental justice
problems and
solutions. This
program embodies
many of the
approaches to
environmental
protection that EPA
is promoting -
community-based
environmental
protection, real-time
environmental
monitoring, greater
attention to childrens'
health and
environmental
justice."
Felicia Marcus,
Regional
Administrator. EPA
Region 9
-------
SECTION II
Small Grants, Big Results
The Environmental Justice Small Grant Program at EPA
Region 9
This small federal investment has yielded big results. Grants have gone to neighborhood
cleanup projects as well as educational efforts to ensure that community residents understand
public processes and environmental regulations or community-right-to know laws, as well as fully
and effectively participating in the decisions that will affect their local environments.
Supporting these grant projects has (1) helped the EPA make progress on the goals of
Executive Order #12898; (2) resulted in the production of videos, workbooks, school curricula
and other tangible products; and (3) has created partnerships that help low-income communities
and communities of color build their capacity to address environmental justice issues.
Success Stories models of
action for communities
EPA Region 9 covers a large geographic area
that includes the states of Arizona, California,
Hawaii, and Nevada, the Pacific Islands and
the Navajo Nation. The issues of concern to
low-income communities and minority commu-
nities in this region are equally diverse,
ranging from childhood lead poisoning, to air
toxics, to the health impacts of exposure to
pesticides, to facility siting issues. Below are a
few projects funded through this program that
stand out as successes. This is not a compre-
hensive list of all the successful projects
funded through this program. Rather, our
intent was to highlight a few innovative solu-
tions to the variety of environmental justice
problems communities face.
San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners
Environmental Justice Youth Leadership
Project and Anti-tobacco Campaign, San
Francisco League of Urban Gardeners.
$20,000
The San Francisco League of Urban Garden-
ers Environmental Justice Youth Leadership
Program identified effective youth leaders and
activists in San Francisco's Bayview Hunter's
Point neighborhood. After learning about
leadership and tobacco issues, the youth took
charge and organized against tobacco adver-
tising in their community, a universal environ-
mental justice issue. The students introduced
a resolution to city supervisors that could limit
the power of tobacco companies on an
international scale. The resolution seeks to
apply these laws to corporations unilaterally
in every country of operation. After listening to
the youths' presentation at a public hearing,
San Francisco supervisors passed a version
of the resolution on June 15, 1998. The next
round of Environmental Justice Youth Leaders
began training in September 1998 and will
continue working on tobacco and other local
environmental issues.
Radon and Indoor Air Pollution Project,
National Council of Negro Women in the
San Fernando Valley, California. $16,500
The National Council of Negro Women (NC of
NW) sponsored the Black History Month
Festival at Los Angeles Mission College in the
City of Sylmar. During the event, they pre-
sented a workshop on Indoor Air Quality and
distributed hundreds of radon test kits to low-
income and minority residents of the San
Fernando Valley. This was one part of their
overall strategy to motivate local community
residents to test and mitigate radon and to
4 Highlighting Success the Region 9 Environments/Justice Small Grant Program. Fiscal Years 1994-99. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Publication S909-R-99-002
-------
take preventative action against second hand
smoke and carbon monoxide. Improving
understanding of the cumulative impact of
indoor air pollutants is essential to decreasing
asthma rates among low income and minority
people. The festival was well attended reaching
300 community residents and organizational
representatives. As a result of this project, NC
of NW set up similar Indoor Air Quality Informa-
tion Centers and distributed educational
information about reducing public health risks
of radon and indoor air contamination at other
events in the community later in the year.
Used Oil Recycling Project, Hualapai Tribe,
Peach Springs, Arizona. $20,000.
The Hualapai reservation is an isolated rural
community located along the south rim of the
Grand Canyon in Northern Arizona. The
unemployment rate is close to 60% and a large
percentage of people change their own oil. For
years people on the reservation had to drive 55
miles away to Kingman, Arizona to dispose of
their dirty used oil. Some people did this drive,
but more likely the dirty oil ended up in the local
landfill, on the soil, or in other inappropri-
ate places. Today, residents of the
Hualapai Reservation have a cleaner and
more convenient option. The Hualapai
Department of Public Services estab-
lished a used oil pickup and drop-off
service, a 'kwik pit' for customers, as well
as a number of 55 gallon temporary
storage drums located at sites through-
out the reservation. This project was
modeled after a similar project completed
on the Hopi Reservation and funded
through the environmental justice small
grant program the previous year. In
addition to serving as the model for this
project, the staff of the Hopi Department
of Natural Resources provided technical
advise to the Hualapai Tribe, resulting in
a more efficient and effective project.
Community Education and Planning
Project, Pinoleville Band of Pomo
Indians, Ukiah, California. $20,000
The partnership between the Pinoleville
Band of Pomo Indians and the
Mendocino Environmental Center (MEC)
brought together people with very differ-
ent experiences who shared the land.
The tribe and MEC co-sponsored two
community workshops focusing on
environmental impacts on the Reserva-
tion and Ackerman Creek. The two
groups established a joint planning committee
to provide the community at large with infor-
mation and the opportunity to meaningfully
participate in the resolution of environmental
injustices. As they explained, "many of us
grew up witnessing the classic confrontational
styles of the various interest groups in the
region ... Our workshops fostered a collabora-
tive process and built relationships between
the various people interested in the resources
and natural beauty of Ackerman Creek
Watershed. Including community residents in
the process brought passion to the planning
process that a room full of professionals could
not." One Pinoleville elder, for example, spoke
of swimming in the creek with her mother and
grandfather. For local people, "this kind of
contribution cannot be quantified yet without it
the planning process is a simple formula that
does not always lead to success passion,
plus conviction leads to excitement, and that,
ultimately, makes the process meaningful.
The workshop injected people with enthusi-
asm, they found the spark to form the
Ackerman Creek Watershed Committee
which did not exist before."
After the
victory in San
Diego.
hundreds of
people
marched and
hung flowers
and blue
ribbons
symbolizing
clean air for
Barrio Logan.
Environmental Health Coalition
-------
Project Restore,
Ramona Gardens
The Toxic Free Barrio Logan Campaign,
Environmental Health Coalition (EHC), San
Diego, California. $20,000.
The Environmental Health Coalition
focused on involving residents of
Barrio Logan and the surrounding
communities in critical environmen-
tal issues. They introduced commu-
nity members to concepts of
environmental justice through bi-
lingual community workshops and
training of promotoras (or commu-
nity-based educators). One very
important issue in the community
was the Port District's use of the
toxic pesticide methyl bromide to
fumigate imported fruit. This activity
occurred at a facility just 1/i mile
from an elementary school. Since
this activity began in 1996 the
residents and EHC took a proactive
stance and initiated meetings with
the Port to solve the problem. The
organizers stepped up attention to
this issue because of the growing
concern in the community about the
health and environmental effects of
the fumigations. They organized a
rally, attended local public meetings
en masse and spoke during public
comment periods. Prior to one
significant meeting, a noon rally was
held at the elementary school
followed by a car caravan of about
30 cars en route to the Port District
meeting. Over 200 community
residents attended that meeting and
all television and radio stations and
the major daily newspaper covered the event.
Ultimately, the Port Commission adopted a
neighborhood cleanup Fumigation Use Policy prohibiting the importa-
tion of commodities requiring the use of
methyl bromide. This is the first such policy to
be enacted in the country.
Brownfields Environmental Justice
Project, Urban Habitat Program, San
Francisco, California. $20,000
Urban Habitat's Brownfields Environmental
Justice project worked to ensure that commu-
nity activists in the Bay Area were, and
continue to be, at the table to incorporate the
principles of environmental justice and
sustainability into the design and implementa-
tion of Brownfields policies and redevelop-
ment projects. Nine meetings of the
Brownfields Working Group, which includes
EPA and local agency representatives as well
as community organizations and other
brownfield stakeholders, resulted in the publi-
cation of Building Upon Our Strengths: A
Community Guide to Brownfields Redevelop-
ment in the San Francisco Bay Area. The
working group and community guide serve as
models for integrating environmental justice
considerations into Brownfield Pilot projects
nationwide.
Project Restore, Ramona Gardens Resident
Advisory Council, Los Angeles, California.
$11,851
Local residents of an East Los Angeles low-
income housing community worked to educate
other residents about local environmental
issues, resulting in the restoration of some of
the most neglected open spaces in the neigh-
borhood. Local residents completed a survey in
which they identified the dirty and dying local
yards and open space as a priority environ-
mental concern. Local residents developed a
restoration plan during monthly community
meetings and organized to have planting
materials donated from several nurseries.
Residents distributed flyers in English and
Spanish to encourage residents to participate
in the restoration of the communal yards.
Together, adults and youth planted seeds,
flowers and trees in the most neglected yards.
Photographs of before and after the restoration
are displayed in every meeting to illustrate the
improvement of the local environment as a
result of local residents' involvement.
Dine Citizens Against Ruining Our
Environment (Dine CARE). Winslow,
Arizona. $20,000
This all-Navajo community-based environmen-
tal organization worked with people in Dilkon,
Teesto, and Seba Dalkai to recycle their trash
and reduce the amount of solid waste they
generate. Since many of the residents have
little or no knowledge of the English language,
Dine CARE developed a Navajo environmental
vocabulary and used visual aids. A recycle
drop-off center was established and two
community members picked up and took the
materials to a recycling center in Flagstaff, a
180-mile round-trip drive. The collection
program started off slowly in November 1995,
but by the end of the project year, the collection
increased to 25 bags per month. Dine CARE
sponsored an environmental conference at the
istice Small Grant P : --99-002
-------
Dilkon Chapter and distributed a survey asking
if people considered solid waste to be a
problem in the Chapter. The environmental
education drive increased awareness of the
solid waste problem and led to a further
increase in recycling in the community. In
addition, through working with the Seba Dalkai
School on recycling education, the Navajo
Nation Eco-Scouts (an environmental educa-
tion project for boys and girls) was started in
January 1996.
Workbooks on Environmental Justice for
Native Hawaiians, Native Hawaiian Advisory
Council, Oahu, Hawaii. $20,000
This project was designed to help Native
Hawaiians participate in the legislative and
administrative processes that result in environ-
mental policies. The Native Hawaiian Advisory
Council and students at the William S.
Richardson School of Law prepared E Alu Like
Mai i ka Pono\ A guidebook to Hawai'i's Legis-
lative and Administrative Process as a sequel
to an earlier workbook Kupa'a Ma Hope o ka
'Aina: Workbook on Environmental Justice for
Native Hawaiians. Five workshops were held
on four islands to introduce Native
Hawaiian communities to the workbook
and to provide instruction for effective
participation in the decision making
process. For the Kupa'a grant, they
worked with the Hawaiian Civic Clubs,
the Hawaiian Homesteaders Associa-
tion, Ilio'ulaokalana, an organization of
kumu hula (hula teachers) statewide,
and various individuals active in the
Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian)
communities to organize the work-
shops themselves on each island. They
held the workshops one week prior to
public meetings by a specially-ap-
pointed government task force that was
presenting a draft report on implemen-
tation of the Pash decision on Native
Hawaiian gathering rights. Over 100
people attended the meetings around
the islands and the attendees were well
prepared to discuss the report. Accord-
ing to the grantee, as a result of the
comments received at the public
meetings, the task force revised their
initial recommendations. While the
grant is officially "over", these organiza-
tions continue to get requests for the
workbooks and to participate in com-
munity-based workshops on environ-
mental justice issues.
The Hazardous Materials Awareness &
Preparedness Training Workbook, Oakland
Fire Services Agency, Office of Emergency
Services (in partnership with African
American Development Association),
Oakland, California. $20,000
West Oakland is a community of homes,
businesses and industries that serves as a
major transportation center with railroads, a
seaport, and an interstate freeway system.
The ethnically diverse community is made up
of 80% African-Americans, 8% Latinos, 7%
Asians, and 5% Caucasians. 76% of the
population lives below the poverty line. There
are approximately 330 hazardous materials
sites within the community 29 of which are
considered high hazard sites. The workbook
and training program provides a practical
approach to day-to-day living with environmen-
tal hazards plus practical information for
eliminating or reducing these hazards. The
workbook introduces residents to the basics of
how to do a community risk assessment,
encourages residents to reduce the potential
of contamination and exposure to toxic
materials, and most importantly, empowers
California Institute for Rural Studies
-------
Introducing the grass roots environmental justice coalition to the community. BorderLinks.
residents to prepare for and respond to
emergencies on a family and neighborhood
level. Development of the workbook was a
joint effort between the Office of Emergency
Services and the African American Develop-
ment Association, with technical support from
Clearwater Revival Company.
West Oakland Defensible Space
Assessment. African American
Development Association in partnership
with the City of Oakland's Office of
Emergency Services, Oakland, California.
$19,000
AADA, in collaboration with the City of
Oakland's Office of Emergency Services,
identified where hazardous materials are
stored or transported in this mixed land use
area in West Oakland (see description above)
and therefore where a need exists for commu-
nity training and education. AADA mapped the
location of 714 listed hazardous material
businesses or toxic substance release sites to
show their location relative to residential,
commercial and industrial zoning, and
schools, parks and medical districts. Commu-
nity members were then trained in toxic and
hazardous material recognition to ensure a
safe and predictable response in the event of
a chemical spill. The City of Oakland has also
been awarded a grant to expand its neighbor-
hood training program, Citizens of Oakland
Respond to Emergencies (CORE), to include a
hazardous materials and community right-to-
know component. The CORE project, in
collaboration with the AADA, aims to foster
greater understanding and a spirit of coopera-
tion between government, local community -
based organizations, environmental advocates
and the local citizenry.
BorderLinks, Tucson, Arizona. $20,000
For this project, women from Nogales, Arizona
and Nogales, Sonora in Mexico participated in
a series of workshops focusing on environmen-
tal justice through leadership development.
One workshop introduced the women to the
basics of environmental law in the U.S. and
Mexico, the political structures of the two cities,
and the basic elements of organizing people to
participate in the decision making process. The
project (which is still active) will finish with the
women breaking into groups and choosing a
small, identifiable and resolvable environmental
problem in their community to work on. The
final workshop will focus on developing plans
for larger tangible projects such as recovering
rainwater, recycling campaigns, water purifica-
tion systems and building appropriate latrines
in areas with no sewage.
nail Grant P' S Environmental Protection A.: :: 99-002
-------
10 Way) $20,000 (or less) Has Made a Big Difference
Two rural Indian communities in Arizona
(one on the Hopi reservation and one
on the Hualapai reservation) now have
accessible used oil recycling programs.
Over 5,500 primarily Chinese-speaking
residents of San Francisco's Chinatown
received information on the hazards of
childhood lead poisoning.
Residents of West Oakland, California
have better access to information about
hazardous materials in their neighbor-
hood and what to do in the event of an
emergency.
300 low-income African American
residents in the San Fernando Valley
have tested the radon levels in their
homes.
Residents interested in protecting the
local environment formed the
Ackerman Creek Watershed Commit-
tee in Mendocino County, California.
A new grassroots environmental justice
coalition, Mujeres en Trabajo
Ambiental, has been formed in the
sister cities of Nogales, Mexico and
Nogales, Arizona.
A school in Monterey, California, serving
a high number of low-income and
Spanish-speaking children, is now
working on an integrated pesticide
management plan to minimize the
exposure of children to toxic sub-
stances at school.
Approximately 1,000 migrant
farmworkers in San Diego County
learned simple low-cost techniques for
storing and disinfecting their drinking
water.
Youth from Los Angeles County partici-
pated in a public process that reduced
the production of pesticides adjacent to
a residential area already heavily
impacted by air emissions.
The Port Commission in San Diego
adopted a Fumigation Use Policy
prohibiting the importation of commodi-
ties requiring the use of methyl bro-
mide. This fumigation activity occurred
at a facility just 1/4 mile from an elemen-
tary school in a predominantly Latino
community. This is the first such policy
to be enacted in the country.
Urban Habitat Program
U.S. EPA Headquarters Library
Ma
-------
Grant Products
Below are just some examples of materials organizations have created with small (less
than $20,000) Environmental Justice grants. These products represent only a fraction of
the work that has been done. Clearly, the benefits of EPA's investment continue well
beyond the one-year project and $20,000 grant! See Appendix A and 'Success Stories' for
more complete descriptions of these projects.
Fish Tales brochures: Outreach on cleaning and cooking techniques to
minimize health risks from eating fish. Available in English, Laotian,
Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean and Cambodian
t-TBS-1
Building Upon Our Strengths: A Community Citizens Guide to
Guide to Brownfields Redevelopment Enforcing
Environmental
Laws in California
KUPA'A MA HOPF O KA
Hazardous
Material*
Awareness ft
Preparedness
Training
Workbook
Kupa 'a Mahope o ka Aina: Workbook for
Environmental Justice for Native Hawaiians
and E Alu Like Mai I Ka Pono (Coming
Together for Justice): A Guidebook to
Hawaii's Legislative and Administrative
Processes
The Hazardous
Materials Awareness
& Preparedness
Training Workbook
Videos
Fish Tales: a health education video from the
Seafood Consumption Information Project
(SCIP) at Save San Francisco Bay Association.
Outreach on cleaning and cooking techniques
to minimize health risks from eating fish.
Kids At Risk: Getting the Lead out of Your
Home.
Produced by Sierra Club in partnership with
local environmental justice organizations.
Environmental Health Coalition Video Clips.
Clips of media coverage, public rallies, and
community celebrations with comments by
local residents and organizers.
Workbooks and Community Guides
Building Upon Our Strengths: A Community
Guide to Brownfields Redevelopment in the
San Francisco Bay Area.
Produced by Urban Habitat Program.
Citizens Guide to Enforcing Environmental
Laws in California.
Produced by Golden Gate University School of
Law in San Francisco, Environmental Law and
Justice Clinic: The Community Legal Education
Project.
Kupa'a Mahope o ka Aina: Workbook for
Environmental Justice for Native Hawaiians
and E Alu Like Mai I Ka Pono (Coming
Together for Justice): A Guidebook to Hawaii's
Legislative and Administrative Processes.
A joint project between the Native Hawaiian
Advisory Council and the William S. Richard-
son School of Law at the University of Hawaii.
The Hazardous Materials Awareness &
Preparedness Training Workbook.
This student workbook was a joint effort
between the Oakland Fire Services Agency,
Office of Emergency Services and the African
American Development Association, with
technical support from Clearwater Revival
Company and the U.S. EPA Region 9.
nalJustice Small G:
-------
West Oakland Defensible Space
Assessment.
Produced by the African American Develop-
ment Association, in collaboration with the
City of Oakland's Office of Emergency
Services. Technical support provided by
Clearwater Revival Company.
Memories Come To Us In the Rain and The
Wind. Oral Histories and Photographs of
Navajo Uranium Miners & their Families.
Published by the Navajo Uranium Miner Oral
History and Photography Project. Sponsored
by the Environmental Health Policy Informa-
tion Project, Tufts School of Medicine.
SALTA, Salud Ambiental Latinas Taking
Action, An EnvironmentalJustice and
Community Organizing Training Manual.
Produced by Environmental Health Coalition,
San Diego, California.
Recycling Centers for Tribes
Hopi Reservation Used Oil Recycling
Program.
Established by Paa Qavi, Incorporated in
Arizona.
Hualapai Tribe Used Oil Recycling Center.
Modeled after the Hopi Tribe's Recycling
Center, the Hualapai Tribe in Peach Springs
Arizona established their own program.
Drop-off Center for Dilkon, Teesto and Seba
Dalkai.
Established by Dine Citizen's Against Ruining
our Environment (Dine Care), an all-Navajo
community based environmental organization
based in Winslow, Arizona.
Multilingual Outreach Materials
Multilingual fish consumption brochures and
Warning Poster in 6 languages.
Produced by the Seafood Consumption
Information Project (SCIP) at Save San
Francisco Bay Association, Oakland,
California.
Household Hazardous Material Bilingual
Education Materials.
Sonora Environmental Research Institute,
Inc. Tucson, Arizona produced a series of
eight educational workbooks in English and
Spanish.
Navajo Uranium Miners Oral
History project: A Traveling
Exhibit.
Audio recordings and visual
images of the experiences of
Navajo uranium miners who were
exposed to hazardous levels of
radiation from the 1940's through
the 1970's. Produced by Tufts
School of Medicine. Boston,
Massachusetts.
Espectaculo Publico (Cuidate/
Protect Yourself).
This "Novella" (a Spanish-
language picture book) illus-
trates how a family should
protect themselves from pesti-
cide-related illnesses. The
"Novella" is performed by a local
community theater group and is
available as a book. Produced
by the Arizona Department of
Health Service, Center for
Minority Health.
Information Hotlines
Pesticide Drift Informational
Hotline.
Established by Pesticide Watch
in San Francisco, California, in
partnership with the Community
Coalition to End Pesticide Drift.
Toxics Watch Hotline.
Part of the Toxic Free Barrio Logan
Campaign, a combined effort of
the Metropolitan Area Advisory
Committee, the Environmental
Health Coalition and the Mercado
Apartments Tenants Association.
Environmental Justice Newsletter
& Hotline for residents of South
Phoenix.
Produced by Don't Waste Arizona
and Concerned Residents of South
Phoenix, Arizona.
Contact the organization or the
Region 9 Environmental Justice
Information line (415/744-1565)
for more information or copies of
any of these items.
West Oakland Defensible Space
Assessment
Household
Hazardous
Material
Bilingual
Education
Materials
. -fir
Memories Come To Us In
the Rain and The Wind.
Oral Histories and
Photographs of Navajo
Uranium Miners & their
Families
Espectaculo
Publico
(Cuidate/
Protect
Yourself)
-------
What we heard Grant recipients speak for themselves
The unique aspects of this Small Grant Program and the value it has brought to communities came through strongly in
our interviews with past recipients. Below, recipients of Environmental Justice Small Grants speak for themselves:
On the value of partnerships...
"Many of us grew up witnessing the classic
confrontational styles of the various interest
groups in the region ... Our workshops fostered a
collaborative process and built relationships
between the various people interested in the
resources and natural beauty of Ackerman Creek
Watershed. Including local people in the process
brought passion to the planning process that a
room full of professionals could not. This kind of
contribution cannot be quantified, yet without it
the planning process is a simple formula that
does not always lead to success passion, plus
conviction leads to excitement, and that,
ultimately, makes the process meaningful. The
workshop injected people with enthusiasm, they
found the spark to form the Ackerman Creek
Watershed Committee which did not exist
before." Pinoleville Band of Porno Indians (in
partnership with the Mendocino Environmental
Center), Ukiah. California.
St. Peter's Housing's Lead Hazard Reduction Program
depends on partnerships with other community-based
organizations and local agencies in San Francisco's
predominantly Latino Mission District. As they explain, "Lead
education is transparent unless it is linked with health
centers that can provide blood lead testing or housing
counselors to assist with lead abatement in housing. Our
philosophy is to train other community-based organizations
about lead abatement and then they in turn can educate
their members or constituents directly." St. Peter's Housing
Committee, San Francisco. California.
"The Environmental Justice grant that we received for the
Promotoras de Salud Project was very beneficial. The
Promotoras held educational meetings for Migrant Education
and worked with AmeriCorps to provide training at the
Festival de la Salud. Various connections were made with
the University of California and national institutions. Some
relationships were developed with county-level government
agencies." California Institute for Rural Studies, Sacramento,
California.
On the value of community involvement...
"Both our projects were based upon community involvement.
For the Kupa'a grant, we worked with the Hawaiian Civic
Clubs, the Hawaiian Homesteaders Association, and various
individuals active in the Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian)
communities to organize the workshops themselves on each
island. With the E Alu Like Mai workshops, we joined forces
with Ilio'ulaokalana, an organization of kumu hula (hula
teachers) statewide. Ilio members not only helped set up the
workshops, but also participated in them by sharing their
experiences in working on Kanaka Maoli issues before
government agencies. I firmly believe that community
involvement in organizing and running the meetings was a
key to the success of both projects." University of Hawaii.
William S. Richardson School of Law, Manoa.
"Involvement of community-based groups and leaders was a
central component of our grant project. Because the major
goal of our grant was to provide a community voice in
Brownfields redevelopment in the Bay Area, we could not
have achieved this without strong partnerships with
communities of color." Urban Habitat Program, San
Francisco, California.
"The Promotoras were community representatives. The
workshops and training were conducted in Spanish. We
were able to reach a "hard-to-reach", sometimes invisible,
community because we trained people from the community."
California Institute for Rural Studies, Davis, California.
On enhanced communication...
Enhancing communication between the community
residents and local, state, and federal governments was a
common goal for many organizations.
"In reviewing the grants for this evaluation we were struck by
how the communication skills of the community have
increased and by how each grant project built on the
accomplishments of the last. Since we are working in
communities with a large, mono-lingual Spanish population,
facilitating communication between them and the predomi-
nantly mono-lingual English officials was an important part of
the work." Environmental Health Coalition. San Diego,
California.
12 Highlighting Success: the Region 9 Environmental Justice .'" 'S Environmental Protec
-------
"This grant is strengthening our efforts to
involve more community members in
reviewing policy documents and responding to
requests-for-public comments on various
issues. More importantly, the grant allows us
to independently clarify the probable source,
times, and degree of leaks from the plant and
communicate this information to neighborhood
residents and the EPA." Puna Malama Pono,
Inc., Pahoa. Hawaii.
"We have noted a marked increase in public
testimony of Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian
people); and several testifiers have either
during their testimony or during a break,
commented that they attended the EPA-funded
workshops and have used the workbooks they
were given at the workshops." According to
the grantee, "as a result of the comments
received at the public meetings, a task force
on implementing Native Hawaiian gathering
rights completely revised their recommenda-
tions." University of Hawaii, William S.
Richardson School of Law, Manoa.
Environmental Health Coalition
On leveraging other support...
"The original EPA Environmental Justice Small Grant
provided the seed money for our environmental justice
community education and empowerment project, Salud
Ambiental, Latina Tomando Accion (SALTA, Environmental
Health, Latinas Taking Action). As this project developed, we
were able to secure additional funding from a wide variety of
private foundations, including the James Irvine Foundation, to
expand the training, the National Environmental Education &
Training Foundation to distribute the training manual
nationwide, and the California Endowment to hire five of the
Promotoras as community organizers. In addition to receiving
money directly, our work through the SALTA project contrib-
uted to the City of San Diego receiving $100,000 from the
EPA for a Brownfields project and allocating $400,000 for the
Community Development Block Grant funds to relocate
chrome plating shops out of the residential neighborhood."
Environmental Health Coalition. San Diego, California.
"With support from the Environmental Justice Small Grant
Program, "Lideras Campesinas began as a project of the
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation over six years
ago and in the last two years has functioned as an
independent non-profit organization." Lideras Campesinas,
Pomona, California.
On raising awareness about environmental
issues....
"Urban Habitat Program's regional land use and
sustainability framework provided connections between
Brownfields and other environmental justice issues,
including transportation and air quality, environmental
health and lead issues, food security, and urban sprawl and
inner city disinvestment." Urban Habitat Program, San
Francisco, California.
"Receiving the grant from the EPA gave us an image of
reliability and credibility within the community... In the last six
months we were able to apply for and receive a small grant
from a local community fund to help us in writing, duplicating,
and mailing a short newsletter with information and updates
about the air monitoring program and other environmental
issues in the community." Puna Malama Pono. Inc., Pahoa,
Hawaii.
"Our Lead Hazard Reduction Project touches a marginalized
citizenship. We provide the only lead poisoning prevention
program aimed specifically at Spanish speaking day laborers
in the city of San Francisco. The environmental justice small
grant money was used to start up the program and since then
we have received two other grants to continue the lead
program." St. Peter's Housing Committee. San Francisco,
California.
"Urban gardening and environmental education became
viable parts of conversations about improving the urban
environment. Community gardens have made these issues
common topics with policy leaders as well." Los Angeles
Conservation Corps, Los Angeles, California.
"Working on this small grant project brought to light other
environmental problems that we were not aware of. For
example, when we did the air pollution tests we found an
asphalt burner was responsible for creating most of the
pollution, instead of the solid waste landfill as we had
thought." Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community,
Scottsdale, Arizona.
-------
i
Progress on Goals of Executive
Order #12898 on Environmental
Justice
Increased public participation and access
to information (Section 5-5)
Ensuring that public documents, notices, and
hearings relating to human health or the
environment are concise, understandable
(including translated as necessary) and
readily accessible to the public is a basic tenet
of the Executive Order. Indeed, many of EPA
Region 9's small grants have been used to
fund translation services for public meetings
or health risk information or towards the
production of multilingual outreach materials.
These are some of the projects we have
funded to increase public participation and
access to information.1
The El Pueblo Clinic in Tucson Arizona
hired and trained 10 Spanish speaking
residents as Community Health Advisors
to implement the Entre Nosotros outreach
program. These promotoras (community-
based health educators), went door- to-
door in the community adjacent to the
Tucson International Airport Area
Superfund Site working to educate families
about potential environmental health risks
from exposure to TCE, the primary toxic
contaminant of concern to residents
surrounding the Superfund site.
Kupa'a Mahope o ka Aina: Workbook
for Environmental Justice for Native
Hawaiians outlines the major environ-
mental laws that affect Native Hawai-
ians and provides guidance for
Hawaiian communities that want to
participate in the State's environmen-
tal decision-making process.
A consortium of organizations met
monthly and created Building Upon
Our Strength: A Community Guide to
Brownfields Redevelopment in the
San Francisco Bay Area. The guide is
a model for community participation in
the Brownfields debate nationwide.
Sonora Environmental Research
Institute, Inc. in Tucson, Arizona
produced and distributed bilingual
educational materials about house-
hold hazardous materials to the
schools and residents of Santa Cruz
County. These materials can be used in
other Spanish or English speaking commu-
nities throughout the United States.
In San Diego's Barrio Logan neighborhood,
a small grant to the Environmental Health
Coalition supported bilingual community
workshops and training for 10 promotoras.
The Promotoras participated in a series of
meetings with local government officials
who had formed a task force to investigate
the impacts of mixed use zoning in their
neighborhood. EHC provided simultaneous
translation at the workshop and at local
government task force hearings. Three of
the Promotoras also won seats on the local
redevelopment Project Area Committee
(PAC). The Promotoras and their allies
forced the first public election of members
to the PAC in years and community atten-
dance at the PAC meetings remains high.
This was a major step in reclaiming the
PAC from control by interests from outside
the community.
Subsistence consumption of Fish and
Wildlife (Section 4-4)
Historically, there is a lack of consumption data
on subsistence fishing or hunting populations in
the United States. In addition, new immigrant
communities are often not aware of the particu-
lar risks involved in consuming high levels of
fish or wildlife in their new environment.
A priority in the Executive Order is to collect
and analyze information on consumption
patterns of people who rely principally on fish
or wildlife for subsistence and to communicate
to the public the risks of those consumption
patterns. Unfortunately, scientists often have
difficulty getting accurate information on
consumption patterns of subsistence fishing
populations because of language barriers or
the reality that new immigrants often have a
fear of government or unknown researchers.
The following two projects illustrate how the
work of public agencies can be improved
significantly through partnerships with commu-
nity based organizations:
The Asian Pacific Environmental Network's
(APEN) 'Richmond Laotian Fish Consump-
tion Study' clearly demonstrated that
communities and local residents can do
good science and contribute to
environmental policy decisions that impact
'For a synopsis of any of these examples see Appendix A. Some of these projects are also featured in even greater
detail under 'Success Stories.'
14 H... --nial'Grant f- '4-99. US. E"
-------
PODER
their lives. APEN worked with the local
Laotian people to design and conduct
a survey of fish consumption patterns
of the larger Laotian community.
Through this unique and truly commu-
nity-based approach, including
scientific peer review, APEN was able
to get a very high response rate on
their survey and an accurate assess-
ment of the fish consumption levels of
this community. The results of this
survey are critical for a wide range of
policy decisions, from fish advisories
to water permits, and have already
affected technical decisions and Clean
Water Act Policy in Region 9.
Save San Francisco Bay Association's
Seafood Consumption Information
Project developed multilingual out-
reach material aimed at educating
subsistence fishing communities
about the potential health risks of
eating fish caught in San Francisco
Bay. The organization distributed
health warning brochures in Laotian,
Vietnamese, Korean, Cambodian,
Spanish and English, as well as a
video showing step-by-step directions
on how to prepare fish in ways that
minimize health risks.
These projects demonstrated that
community-based organizations, which
often have the necessary trust and
credibility with the community, can more
effectively reach that community and
produce reliable scientific results. These
projects illustrated how the research
capability, data, and expertise of
community-based organizations and
residents are critical for agencies to
consider in order to make accurate and
informed policy decisions.
Human Health and the Environment
(Section 3-30)
Another priority of the Executive Order is to
include diverse segments of the population in
clinical studies and research efforts, in
providing education about multiple and
cumulative exposures, and in informing
people about potential risks.
-------
Recent graduates
from EHC's SALTA
Program proudly
display their
diplomas.
BorderLinks
A number of promotoras programs em-
ployed and trained Latina women to
provide in-home education about environ-
mental health risks specific to their com-
munities. Grants to the Environmental
Health Coalition, El Pueblo Clinic, Califor-
nia Institute of Rural Studies, La Clinica de
la Raza, Project Concern International, and
California Rural Legal Assistance sup-
ported outreach relating to health impacts
from exposure to pesticides, household
hazardous materials, toxic contamination
of ground water, drinking water contamina-
tion or other specific health risks.
The Environmental Health Coalition in San
Diego proved that the promotoras model
works. On a pre-training test evaluating
their knowledge of environmental problems
and how to participate in local government,
more than half of the promotoras scored
under 70% and only 10% scored over
90%. At the end of the program, the
promotoras' scores improved 37.5% on
average all of them scored over 70%,
and 80% scored over 90%!
Asian Immigrant Women's Advocates
provided environmental health information
in several languages on protection from
hazardous materials in the workplace. This
effort has helped educate Asian women
electronics workers about the particular
environmental risks associated with their
work.
While the work of some of the projects sup-
ported by EJ Grants can add new challenges
for some of EPA's programs or those of other
state or local agencies, EPA Region 9 recog-
nizes the value of involving community-based
organizations in defining solutions to complex
policy issues. This unique program creates
links between people who often have different
perspectives not only on how to solve, but also
on what constitutes, an environmental problem.
With the help of these grants, communities
define what they consider the priority environ-
mental problems and participate in planning
and implementing a solution.
Fiscal Years 1994-99. U.S. Environmental Prol
-------
Appendix A: Regional Environmental Justice Small Grant Projects, 1994 through 1998
For more information on any of these projects, call the organization directly or call the USEPA Region 9 Environmental
Justice information line at 415/744-1565.
Year 1:1994-1995
1. Asian Immigrant Women Advocates.
Oakland, CA $5,000
Environmental Health and Safety Project of
Asian Immigrant Women Electronics Assem-
blers. The project's ongoing environmental
health and safety program includes newslet-
ters, workshops, and training for these work-
ers. The project provided environmental health
information in several Asian languages and
included tips on protection from hazardous
materials in the workplace.
2. California Rural Legal Assistance Foun-
dation (CRLA). Sacramento, CA $5,000
Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment.
The grant supported CRLA's farmworker
education and the production of a newsletter,
Race, Poverty, and the Environment, as well as
a legal assistance network, an organizing
group, and a worker's safety group. These
groups provided technical and legal assistance,
information on health and safety, and education
on environmental hazards to low-income
people and people of color.
3. Concerned Citizens of South Central Los
Angeles. Los Angeles, CA $10,000
The Lead Poisoning Public Awareness Cam-
paign worked to increase awareness of lead
poisoning in low-income communities and
communities of color. They distributed informa-
tion about lead abatement and lead poisoning
in the home and workplace to African-Ameri-
can and Latino organizations that provide
childcare.
4. Environmental Health Coalition (EHC).
San Diego, CA $10,000
Latino Environmental Education Empowerment
Project: For La Vida Environmental Justice
Workshops. EHC worked with the community
group For La Vida to host workshops that
informed Latino communities in San Diego
about environmental problems, health hazards,
risk reduction, and pollution prevention in their
neighborhoods. The project focused on training
consejeras (Latina women in the community) to
act as peer counselors and educators.
5. Golden Gate University, School of Law.
San Francisco, CA $4,500 Environmen-
tal Law and Justice Clinic: The Community
Legal Education Project. The project em-
ployed students and faculty at the University's
environmental law clinic to create the Citizens'
Guide to Enforcing Environmental Laws in
California. The guidebook explains how
communities can play an active role in imple-
menting state and federal environmental laws.
6. The Ethnic Coalition of Southern
California. Los Angeles, CA $6,000
Community Empowerment for Environmental
Justice, Targeting People of Color in Greater
Los Angeles and Surrounding Area. Low-
income people and people of color were
involved in the organizing and development of
four community forums at which local public
officials, business people, and residents
discussed environmental problems and
environmental justice in the Los Angeles area.
7. University of Hawai'i, School of Law.
Honolulu, HI $9,868
Kupa'a Mahope o ka Aina: Workbook for
Environmental Justice for Native Hawai'ians.
This project developed a workbook outlining
state and federal lawmaking procedures that
directly impact Hawai'i's environment. The
workbook, which was designed to encourage
involvement of Native Hawai'ians in decision
making, was distributed at neighborhood
workshops held on all of Hawai'i's main
islands (see Success Stories).
Year 2:1995-1996
1. Asian Pacific Environmental Network
(APEN). Oakland, CA $20,000
Bay Area Seafood Consumption Study. APEN
worked with other groups to form a collabora-
tion between the African American and
Laotian communities in Richmond, California.
The groups evaluated existing outreach and
education efforts relevant to contaminated fish
(actual fishing and fish consumption habits)
and shared information with fishers in both
communities.
17
-------
2. African American Development
Association, Inc. Oakland, CA $20,000
Lead Poisoning Reduction, Verdese Carter
Park.
This project provided education to residents of
Elmhurst, a predominantly African American
and Latino community in Oakland. AADA
provided workshops about environmental
justice, lead exposure and lead hazard
reduction in the home, as well as hazard
maintenance equipment and supplies and
home monitor and reevaluation logs.
3. Arizona Department of Health Services
Center for Minority Health. Phoenix, AZ
$18,585
Espectaculo Publico. The goal of this project
was to motivate migrant and seasonal
farmworkers and the general public in south-
eastern Arizona to be more conscious of
pesticide-provoked illnesses through an
alternative education approach. An
espectaculo publico (a play) was written
depicting a family learning to protect them-
selves from pesticide-related illnesses. It was
performed by a local community theater group
and is available as a Spanish-language
picture book.
4. California Institute for Rural Studies.
Davis, CA $20,000
Environmental Justice Practice and Education
for Farmworker communities. CIRS worked
with other agencies and organizations to
develop and implement a training program to
certify promotoras as trainers of farmworkers
in pesticide safety. The promotoras worked
with neighbors and compadres/comadres to
recognize health hazards from agricultural
chemicals and poor sanitation.
5. Dine Citizens Against Ruining Our
Environment (Dine CARE). Winslow, AZ
$20,000
Recycling and Cleanup Program. Dine CARE,
an all-Navajo community-based environmen-
tal organization, initiated a recycling and
cleanup program for the Dilkon, Teesto and
Seba Dalkai communities. The group pre-
sented informational workshops, established
a recycling drop-off center, and taught about
risk reduction and pollution prevention, (see
Success Stories)
6. Don't Waste Arizona/Dine Alliance.
Phoenix/Winslow, AZ $20,000
Black Mesa Community Survey. The Dine
Alliance, a Navajo grassroots organization,
worked with residents living near the Black
Mesa Coal Mine to identify environmental
concerns. The Alliance also conducted an
Environmental Health Needs Assessment
Survey and developed an outreach and training
program.
7. El Pueblo Clinic, TCE Program.
Tucson, AZ $20,000
"Is My Health at Risk Because of TCE?" The
promotoras program trained volunteers in the
community adjacent to the Tucson International
Airport Area Superfund site. Volunteers con-
ducted a door-to-door campaign seeking to
increase the predominantly low-income Latino
community's knowledge of TCE exposure,
health issues, and health services available at
El Pueblo Clinic. (El Pueblo Clinic's TCE
program was established in 1994 to provide
primary and specific TCE exposure-related
health care to residents who might have been
exposed to TCE from the Superfund Site.)
8. Living is For Everyone (LIFE).
Nogales, AZ $20,000
Nogales Border Health and Environment
Project. LIFE worked with other community
groups to address the environmental health
issues in this predominantly low-income Latino
community on the U.S.-Mexico border. The
project provided environmental health work-
shops, a quarterly bilingual newsletter, monthly
lupus screening clinics, and outreach and case
management services. LIFE worked with
individual community members to strengthen
their leadership skills and encouraged them to
share their knowledge of local environmental
health issues with friends and neighbors.
9. Metropolitan Area Advisory Committee.
National City, CA $20,000
The Toxic Free Barrio Logan Campaign,
combined the efforts of the Metropolitan Area
Advisory Committee, the Environmental Health
Coalition and the Mercado Apartments Tenants
Association. The campaign provided basic
environmental education to the 600 low income,
predominantly Latino residents of the Mercado
Apartments. Specific activities included a
watershed protection workshop and establish-
ing a Toxics Watch hotline and resource library.
10. NACO Border Commerce. Naco, AZ
$20,000
Naco Border Santitation Study. This border
sanitation project developed a strategy for
collecting and treating wastewaterto minimize
environmental risk. A model agreement
18 Highlighting Success: the Region 9 Environmental Justice Small Grant Program, Fiscal Years 1994-99, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Publication #909-R-99-002.
-------
between Naco, AZ, and the
Sonoran government for
collection and treatment of
wastewater and a public
awareness program were
also developed.
11. Pesticide Watch. San
Francisco, CA $20,000
The Community Coalition
to End Pesticide Drift is
made up of community
groups working to protect
their health and the
environment from danger-
ous pesticide drift from
adjacent agricultural fields.
This project targeted rural,
low-income communities
and communities of color
that are at risk for pesticide
exposure. The project
funded regional meetings,
participation on a statewide
agricultural urban interface
task force, an informational
hotline, and public service
announcements.
"For the younger generation to be aware [of the hazards of uranium mining]: it
has to be taught to them and shown, so they can learn about it." Joe Ray
Harvey, Cove, Arizona. From Memories Come to Us in the Rain and The Wind.
Oral Histories and Photographs of Navajo Uranium Miners & Their Families.
Photo by Doug Brugge.
12. Puna Malama Pono. Pahoa, HI -
$20,000
Community Based Air Monitoring. This air
toxics project trained local volunteers in the
Puna District, a rural and predominantly low-
income community, to monitor the air emis-
sions from a local geothermal plant. A portable
recording monitor was used to collect data on
the emissions of hydrogen sulfide. The com-
munity worked with air toxics experts on
training volunteers and maintaining the monitor.
13. Ramona Gardens Resident Advisory
Council. Los Angeles, CA $11,851
Project Restore Ramona. This project familiar-
ized residents of an East Los Angeles public
housing complex with issues that affect their
immediate environment. Tenants led the
activities and materials were written in English
and Spanish. The residents initiated an oil
recycling program and cleaned up and restored
neglected open spaces with sod and trees
donated from local nurseries (see Success
Stories).
14. Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian
Community. Scottsdale, AZ $8,860
The Community Environmental Awareness
Demonstration Project helped focus the
community on environmental responsibility. The
tribe held an environmental priorities survey of
the community and several workshops
designed to raise awareness. Key environ-
mental issues identified by the community
included hazardous waste transport, lead,
radon, indoor air quality, water quality, and
pollution prevention.
15. Sierra Club. Los Angeles, CA
$20,000
LeaiPoisoning Education Project. The Sierra
Club worked with local environmental justice
organizations to produce and distribute an
educational video and pamphlets about the
dangers of lead in the home and how to
reduce exposure. The video is specific to the
Los Angeles area and was distributed to
severely affected low-income communities
and communities of color.
16. Tufts University, School of Medicine.
Boston, MA $19,702
NavajoJJ rani urn Miner O_rai_Histo_ry_and
Photography Project. Staff and volunteers
conducted interviews, still photography, and
video taped Navajo miners exposed to
dangerous levels of radiation from the 1940's
through the 1970's. They collected information
in Shiprock, AZ and on the Navajo Nation. A
traveling exhibit is now available.
-------
Year 3:1996-1997
1. Asian Immigrant Women Advocates.
Oakland, CA $5,000
Community and Workplace Risk Awareness
Project for Asian Immigrant Women Electron-
ics Assemblers. This grant helped strengthen
the Environmental Health and Safety Project
of Asian Immigrant Women Electronics
Assemblers (see 1993-94). The project's
environmental education program includes
newsletters, workshops, and training for these
workers. The project provided environmental
health information in several Asian languages
and included tips on protection from hazard-
ous materials in the workplace.
2. Asian Pacific Environmental Network
(APEN). Oakland, CA $20,000
Asian/Pacific Islander Fish Consumption
Study. APEN worked with other community
groups on fish consumption issues. The
groups evaluated existing outreach and
education efforts relevant to contaminated fish
(actual fishing and fish consumption habits),
shared appropriate information within the
communities and improved outreach and
education in these communities.
3. Bernal Heights Housing Corporation.
San Francisco, CA $20,000.
Lead Hazard Education and Prevention
Project. Low-income parents in the Bernal
Heights, outer Mission and Excelsior districts
of San Francisco learned about lead poison-
ing and lead hazard prevention and reduction
in their homes and workplaces. BHHC
provided workshops, conferences, bilingual
educational materials, and vouchers to check
out an abatement vacuum from Cole Hard-
ware in the community. The project included a
partnership with Consumer Action, local
churches, day care centers, libraries, local
businesses, and other nonprofit organizations.
4. California Rural Legal Assistance.
Pomona, CA $19,980
Environmental Justice Program in 12 Rural
Communities in California. This grant funded
initial efforts of the Farmworker Women's
Leadership Project, Lideres Campesinas,
which works with two hundred and fifty
farmworker women representing twelve
farmworker communities throughout Califor-
nia. The program trained farmworker women
as certified pesticide educators and environ-
mental health advocates.
5. Chinatown Resource Center. San
Francisco, CA $20,000
Chinatown's Community Education on Lead
Poisoning Program. The program targeted
Chinese-speaking adults who care for children
under the age of six in their homes. This
population faces a great risk of lead poisoning
because the housing stock is old, and
caregivers are often not licensed and have not
received training or information about lead
poisoning. The community education and
outreach was jointly conducted with education
on seismic safety facilitated by CRC's
AmeriCorps volunteers at buildings slated for
seismic retrofitting.
6. Environmental Health Coalition. San
Diego, CA $20,000
Toxic Free Barrio Logan Campaign. This
program was a combined effort of EHC and the
Mercado Apartments Tenants Association. The
goal was to educate, empower and organize
residents of Barrio Logan around environmen-
tal justice issues. The campaign motivated
residents to participate in community decisions
by conducting a community health survey and
monthly environmental health updates at the
Tenants Association meetings (see Success
Stories).
7. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc.
Phoenix, AZ $19,702
Emergency and Community Right to Know Act
Training for 8 Tribal Communities in Arizona.
Tribes were given instruction and direct on-site
technical assistance in coordinating a Tribal
Emergency Response Commission (TERC)
and for the development of an emergency
response plan. ITCA conducted meetings with
tribal community-based emergency response
representatives, met with tribal leaders on
emergency response priorities, and assisted
the tribes in development of the plans.
8. Los Angeles Conservation Corps. Los
Angeles, CA $20,000
Environmental Spark - Clean Water & Recy-
cling Community Education Project. The goal
of this project was to utilize the energy, creativ-
ity and community awareness of Conservation
Corps members to carry environmental mes-
sages to their communities. Corps members
worked with residents to create projects
dealing with recycling, recycled oil, or storm
drain dumping and involved community mem-
bers in environmental cleanup and pollution
prevention projects that Corps members do on
an ongoing basis.
20 Highlighting Success: the Region 9 Environmental Justice Small Grant Program, Fiscal Years 1994-99, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Publication #909-R-99-002.
-------
9. Native Hawaiian Advisory Council.
Honolulu, HI $20,000
E Alu Like Mai I Ka Pono (Coming Together
for Justice).This project was designed to
educate Native Hawaiians on the legislative
and administrative processes by which
agencies make environmental decisions.
Project participants prepared E Alu Like Mai I
Ka Pono: A Guidebook to Hawaii's Legislative
and Administrative Processes. This was a
joint project between the Native Hawaiian
Advisory Council and the William S.
Richardson School of Law at the University of
Hawaii (see Success Stories).
10. Paa Qavi, Incorporated. Hotevilla, AZ
$20,000
Used Oil Recycling Project. Before the
project, the nearest proper oil disposal facility
to Hotevilla was in Winslow, 70 miles away.
Due to a high rate of used oil dumping on
Hopi land, this project set up a nearby used oil
recycling station. In addition, the project
provided individuals, villages and local busi-
nesses with information about the possible
hazards of improperly disposing of used oil
and proper methods of disposal.
13. Save San Francisco Bay Association.
Oakland, CA $20,000
Seafood Consumption Information Project
(SCIP). This project developed and imple-
mented a community education program that
effectively educated and trained subsistence
fishing communities in San Francisco, Solano,
Alameda, Contra Costa, and Marin counties
about how to minimize health risks associated
with Bay seafood consumption. A video,
educational brochures and poster about safe
seafood consumption were also published.
14. West County Toxics Coalition.
Richmond, CA $20,000
Lead Contamination Project (LCP) was
established to research the extent of lead
poisoning in housing in West Contra Costa
County and to facilitate the development of
strategies to address the problem through
community awareness, outreach and advo-
cacy. LCP educated citizens and community-
based organizations about the nature of lead
poisoning, the need for testing and home
screening, as well as preventative measures
and resources for dealing with the problem.
11. Project Concern Interna-
tional. San Diego, CA $20,000
Community-Based Hygiene
Education and Water Purification
Program. Project Concern worked
with Vista Community Clinic to
increase understanding of envi-
ronmental sanitation, demonstrate
simple low-cost techniques for
water storage and disinfection,
and improve hygiene-related
behaviors among migrant workers
in northern San Diego County.
12. San Francisco League of
Urban Gardeners. San
Francisco, CA $20,000
Environmental Justice Youth
Leadership Program. The purpose
of this program is to develop
effective youth leaders and
activists who will use their newly
acquired skills and knowledge to
help educate the Bayview-
Hunter's Point community around
environmental justice issues. In
addition, these youth will encour-
age friends, family, and neighbors
to participate in workshops that
address environmental issues in
the Bayview-Hunter's Point area
(see Success Stories).
The San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners in action
-------
Year 4: 1997-1998
1. African American Development Associa-
tion (AADA). Oakland, CA $19,000
Defensible Space Assessment (DSA). AADA,
in collaboration with the city of Oakland's
Office of Emergency Services, identified
where hazardous materials are stored or
transported in West Oakland and therefore
where a need for community training and
education exists. Community members were
trained in toxics and hazardous materials to
ensure a safe and predictable response in the
event of a chemical spill. This project included
a geographic assessment of current land
uses, GIS mapping of West Oakland, and
development of a transportation hazard
assessment report (see Success Stories).
2. Ammonia Safety & Training Institute.
Watsonville, CA $20,000
Ammonia-Safety Workshops. The Ammonia
Safety & Training Institute provided four-hour
workshops to public and private stakeholders
in Stockton, Bakersfield, Las Vegas and
Phoenix. The workshops were intended to
enhance communication between public and
private sectors in the event of an ammonia
incident and to increase community aware-
ness of ammonia safety.
Antonio Diaz, PODER
3. City of Oakland, Fire Services Agency.
Oakland, CA $20,000
Hazardojus_Materials Awareness and Educa-
tional Program. The Fire Services Agency of
the City of Oakland expanded its neighborhood
training program, Citizens of Oakland Respond
to Emergencies (CORE), to include a hazard-
ous materials and community-right-to-know
component. The CORE project, in collabora-
tion with the African American Development
Association, aims to foster greater understand-
ing and a spirit of cooperation between govern-
ment, local community based organizations,
environmental advocacy groups, and the local
citizenry (see Success Stories).
4. Communities for a Better Environment
(CBE). Los Angeles, CA $20,000
The LA CAUSA Student Initiative aimed to
develop environmental leadership among
youth by engaging high school students at
Huntington Park High School in classroom
education and site-specific campaigns on
environmental problems in southeast Los
Angeles. Students were taught a variety of
skills, including air monitoring, computer
research and data analysis. Additionally,
students conducted various outreach efforts,
including community workshops, presentations
and a citywide conference (see Success
Stories).
5. Concerned Citizens of South Central Los
Angeles. Los Angeles, CA $20,000
Concerned Citizens, in collaboration with Los
Angeles Metropolitan Network of Churches,
developed a campaign to clean up toxic waste
in South Central Los Angeles. The campaign
included community outreach efforts, promot-
ing cancer tests for residents, recruiting health
specialists to assist in developing a strategy to
address health risks, and meeting with local
and state officials to develop an effective
cleanup schedule for the contaminated sites.
6. Don't Waste Arizona/Concerned Resi-
dents of South Phoenix. Phoenix, AZ
$19,900
Environmental Justice Newsletter & Hotline for
Residents of South Phoenix. Since a 1992
industrial fire, DWA, Inc. has been active in
educating the community about environmental
health and environmental justice issues. The
newsletter provided general and technical
information to affected residents about the
environmental issues related to the fire and the
environmental justice resources available to
the community.
22 Highlighting Success the Region 9 Environmental Justice Smal! Grant Program Fiscal Years 1994-99. U S Environmental Protei Publication #909-R-99-Q02.
-------
7. Hualapai Tribe. Peach Springs, AZ
$20,000
Used Oil Recycling Project. The Hualapai
Department of Public Services established a
used oil pickup and drop-off service, as well as
55-gallon temporary storage drums located
throughout the reservation. The project in-
cluded generating a bimonthly newsletter
informing the community about recycling facility
programming, setting up community presenta-
tions and improving access to the resource
library at the local Transfer & Recycling Center.
The long-term goal of the project is to protect
the environment and natural habitat for current
and future generations through a preventative
pollution plan (see Success Stories).
8. La Clinica de la Raza - Fruitvale Health
Project, Inc. Oakland, CA $20,000
Lead Poisoning Education Project. This project
focused on the communities of Fruitvale and
San Antonio, two multicultural districts within
the City of Oakland. The goal of the project
was to build community-based leadership to
help empower residents to address lead
exposure in their community. The project
trained community members as Health Educa-
tors through its Escuela Para Promotoras,
provided information and education on lead
poisoning and the resources available to the
community through the Casa en Casa model.
9. National Council of Negro Women, Inc.
San Fernando Valley Chapter. Sylmar, CA
$16,500
Radon and Indoor Air Pollution Project. This
project was designed to reduce the public
health risks of radon and indoor air contamina-
tion by conducting and distributing 1,000 radon
test kits in the San Fernando Valley. One goal
of the project was to help institutionalize radon
testing of homes and buildings by developing
strategies with key segments of the community
including real estate businesses, government
officials, public health officials, and school
organizations (See Success Stories).
10. People United to Demand Environmen-
tal Rights (PODER). San Francisco, CA
$20,000
Environmental Justice Empowerment Project.
PODER, in collaboration with the Chinese
Progressive Association, sought to improve
communication between affected low income
communities of color in San Francisco. The
project focused on working with residents of
the Mission District and Chinatown communi-
ties to assess and prioritize their environmental
justice concerns. The project included com-
munity outreach efforts, research and the
creation of educational materials. They
developed a campaign plan to address the
identified environmental justice concerns and
conduct environmental summits for grassroots
organizations in these low-income communi-
ties.
11. Pinoleville Band of Porno Indians.
Ukiah.CA $20,000
Community Education and Planning Project.
The Tribe was concerned about the impacts
of past land use decisions on the current
siting of operations which can present envi-
ronmental hazards within and near the
Pinoleville Indian Reservation. A Restoration/
Remediation Strategy for Ackerman Creek
was developed through this project. The Tribe
worked closely with the Mendocino Environ-
mental Center and technical experts who
provided specific information to help build a
broader understanding of the environmental
justice issues affecting the community. The
project included community workshops to
organize and inform community members
(see Success Stories).
12. Pre-School Coordinating Council, Inc.
Pittsburgh, CA $20,000
Lead Poisoning Prevention for Low-Income
Minority Families. The project focused on
childhood lead poisoning in this low income
community. The Coordinating Council deter-
mined the number of people in the targeted
community capable of job-related, take-home
lead exposure. They educated employers and
workers in these lead-related businesses,
informed families in at-risk residences about
lead poisoning prevention, and increased the
number of children screened for lead poison-
ing.
13. Puna Malama Pono, Inc. Pahoa, HI
$20,000
Air Pollution Monitoring Project. This commu-
nity air pollution monitoring project established
a mechanism to respond to health concerns
related to emissions from a geothermal
electric generating facility. Project participants
monitored and recorded air emissions using
an air pollution monitoring device and trained
community volunteers to conduct random air
emission monitoring using global positioning
and air monitoring devices. The project sought
ultimately to reduce the environmental and
health impacts related to toxic air pollution by
including community members, concerned
health professionals, and government officials
in air monitoring solutions.
23
-------
Memories Come to
Us in the Rain and
The Wind. Oral
Histories and
Photographs of
Navajo Uranium
Miners & Their
Families. Photo by
Doug Brugge.
14. St. Peter's Housing
Committee. San
Francisco, CA
$19,500
Lead Poisoning Out-
reach and Education.
The project's goal was
to improve lead safety
and prevent lead
poisoning among low-
income and monolingual
Spanish-speaking
tenants and workers in
San Francisco's Mission
District. The project
utilized the Lead Safe
Housing Advocacy
Program, which assisted
tenants in assessing
and reducing lead
hazards in their homes
before poisoning occurs,
and the Lead Safe Work
Program, which ad-
dressed lead exposure
caused by housing
renovation and mainte-
nance that disturbs lead-
based paint.
15. Sonora Environ-
mental Research
Institute, Inc. Tucson,
AZ $19,973
Household Hazardous
Material Bilingual
Education Materials
Project. Sonora Environ-
mental Research Institute, Inc. developed and
distributed active learning workbooks to
schools and the general public in English and
Spanish. The project incorporated workshops
for teachers to enhance general and technical
understanding of hazardous materials and
included outreach to parents and residents
through environmental forums and events.
16. Urban Habitat Program, San Francisco,
CA $20,000
Brownfields Environmental Justice Working
Group. The central goal of this project is to
ensure that community activists in the Bay
Area are at the table in the design and
implementation of Brownfield redevelopment
projects and that the Principles of Environ-
mental Justice are incorporated into
Brownfields projects at the policy and project
level. Urban Habitat convened meetings in
order to share information, to develop collabo-
rative community led efforts and to get status
reports on the Pilot Project taking place in the
Bay Area. They also developed and published
Building Upon Our Strengths, A Community
Guide to Brownfields Redevelopment in the
San Francisco Bay Area (see Success Sto-
ries).
Year 5:1998-1999
1. Dine Care, Inc. Winslow, AZ $20,000
Education onthe^auses anoLEffects_Qf
Radiation Exposure on Health, Welfare, and
the Environment. The Northern Arizona Navajo
Down Winders Committee held community
forums at local service centers and Chapter
Houses to discuss effects of over 1200 aban-
doned mines on Navajo land. The forums
incorporated traditional perspectives on
teaching indigenous people and translations of
technical language and concepts into Navajo.
Through this combination of culturally appropri-
ate methods, this organization hoped the
community would be able discuss traditionally
taboo subjects relating to sickness and death.
2. BorderLinks. Tucson, AZ $19,700
Developing Grass-Roots Leaders in Response
to Cross-Border Environmental Crisis, Local
community leaders in Nogales, Arizona, and
Nogales, Sonora, participated in four weekend
workshops focusing on environmental prob-
lems associated with waste disposal in the
Nogales Wash, which runs south to north
through both cities. BorderLinks hoped partici-
pants would also learn to recognise other
environmental problems, gain a better under-
standing of relevant laws, and learn how to
work together to address the problems. The
project was done in cooperation with local
health clinics, local environmental groups, and
members of the Southwest Network for
Environmental and Economic Justice (SNEEJ).
3. El Festival del Pueblo de Monterey.
Seaside, CA $16,000
Pesticide UsemoLRegulation in Monterey
County Schools. Tourism and agriculture, the
leading industries in Monterey County, are
significant users of pesticides and employ
primarily low income, particularly Spanish-
speaking, individuals. In addition, Monterey
24 Highligti:- < Environmental Justice Small i S Environment,-. . ;ency Rubin : s'-99-002.
-------
County Schools do not have guidelines in place
on pesticide use. Community members are
concerned that minority children and youth and
their families in Monterey County are at high
risk of exposure to pesticides. This grant
helped the Monterey Bay Spanish Speaking
Indian Council distribute information to teach-
ers and parents on pesticide use in the work-
place and helped institute a dialogue with the
school district on the need for reducing the use
of pesticides in areas where small children
routinely play.
4. Environmental Center of San Luis
Obispo. San Luis Obispo, CA $20,000
Farmworker Safety Initiative. ECOSLO will
work to minimize environmental health risks
facing farmworkers and to facilitate and
improve communication and coordination
among the county's environmental health
stakeholders and farmworker support groups.
Surveys of farmworkers and their families will
provide new information to regulatory officials,
public agencies, and non-profit service organi-
zations on household hazardous materials and
pesticide use.
5. Greater Bakersfield Community Housing
Resources Board. Bakersfield, CA
$20,000
Kern County Lead Poisoning Prevention
Coalition. This project expanded public health
education and community outreach activities
on environmental lead to low income and
minority families with children. Free swab
testing and free capillary blood testing were
provided to residents. In addition, neighbor-
hood leaders such as teachers, clergy, and
community association members were trained
to instruct residents to test their households
(including possibly contaminated items and
cookery) for lead content, as well as preventa-
tive healthcare and post-poisoning follow-up.
6. Hawaii's Thousand Friends. Honolulu, HI
-$20,000
Qahu Environmental Justice Project. This
project worked to improve communication and
opportunities for collaboration between main-
stream environmental groups, Native
Hawai'ians and lower income residents, and
local decision makers within the City and
County of Honolulu. Workshops focused on the
decision making process of the State Legisla-
ture, City and County Council, and other
agencies. The priority was to assist Native
Hawai'ian and low-income residents in under-
standing local decision-making processes, in
monitoring and evaluating local land use
proposals, and in strengthening their voices in
the decisions that impact their lives and
culture.
7. Imperial Valley College. Imperial, CA
$20,000
New River/New Hope. The New River, which
flows from Mexicali, Mexico, north through
Imperial County, winds through low income
residential and agricultural areas to the Salton
Sea and is one of the most important flyways
in North America for migratory birds. Work-
shops provided high school and community
college teachers with curriculum on water
pollution and solid waste issues, integrating
lectures, field trips, and job shadowing into the
programs geared toward the mostly low-
income population of Hispanic farmworkers
and their children. Students monitored New
River water and research ponding techniques
and bio remediation as a ways to address
agricultural runoff and other pollution. It was
hoped that learning these "real world" proce-
dures would provide minority students with
skills to apply to careers in environmental
management.
8. Los Angeles Educational Partnership
and Pacoima Beautiful. Los Angeles, CA
$19,970
Bilingual, Community-Based Effort to Control
Toxic Dumping. Community-based education,
advocacy, monitoring, and clean-up efforts are
critical to eliminating environmental abuses in
Pacoima. Community members were trained
to become inspectors on watch for illegal
dumping of waste in their communities.
Pacoima Beautiful worked to encouraging
residents to be proactive with environmental
problems, to get involved in planning and
implementing regular cleanup days in neigh-
borhoods, and to develop projects to "green"
local schools.
9. Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of the Fallen
Reservation and Colony. Fallen, NV
$19,113
Solid Waste Disposal and Water Issues: A
Fallon Tribal Environmental Justice Project.
The relationship between the Fallon Paiute-
Shoshone Tribe's solid waste disposal lagoon
system and the groundwater and water
delivery system on the tribe's reservation is
not known. The lagoon system is within five
feet of the groundwater level and was less
than a 1/4 mile from the main water delivery
system on the tribe. This project allowed the
tribe to study the situation, to correct any
potential problems, and to educate the tribal
residents about how the lagoon system could
impact their water quality.
25
-------
Waipi'o Valley
Stream Restoration
Project Hi'ilawe Falls
10. People United for A Better Oakland
(PUEBLO). Oakland, CA $20,000
Strategic Actiorrfor Environmental Health
(SAFE HEALTH). Residents of East Oakland
were concerned about the proximity of a large
residential neighborhood to environmental
toxins resulting from a concentration of
industrial and commercial facilities, railroad
tracks, and a major freeway. SAFE HEALTH
addressed the broad-scale pollution of the
environment by training community members
to document sources of potential pollution, to
prioritize their concerns about the greatest
environmental health threats, and to partner
with government in assuring that adequate
emergency response systems are in place
and public health needs are being met.
11. People's Community
Organization for Reform and
Employment (People's
CORE). Los Angeles, CA -
$19,940
Pesticide Research and
Education Project. Residents in
two multicultural communities in
Los Angeles were concerned
that the health risk of pesticide
exposure is worse for children
attending schools located in
areas where refineries, chemi-
cal plants and smog contribute
to high levels of air pollution.
People's CORE determined the
scope of pesticide use in seven
schools in Carson and five
schools in other parts of the
City of Los Angeles by request-
ing, reviewing, and analyzing
monthly pesticide use reports.
Presentations and workshops
were coordinated with teachers,
parents and school administra-
tors to share information on
pesticide use in the schools
and identify ways to limit
children's exposure to pesti-
cides and other toxic sub-
stances.
12. San Fernando Valley Neighborhood
Legal Services, Inc. Pacoima, CA $19,344
Val Veide Environmental Justice Education and
Outreach Project. Lucha Ambiental de la
Communidad Hispana (LACH) is an informal
group of low-income Latino residents of Val
Verde that formed in 1995 in response to
concerns about the possible adverse health
effects of a landfill in their community. This
grant helped LACH educate the community
through bimonthly meetings, a bilingual envi-
ronmental newsletter, and providing training for
members on effective communication skills,
working with environmental data, and develop-
ing and implementing action plans.
13. San Jose State University Foundation.
San Jose, CA $20,000
Toxics in the 'Hood, This project provides
residents of Richmond, California with accurate
environmental monitoring data. Community
workshops focus on dispelling myths about
'toxics' and 'environmental racism' and train
community members to find information about
toxics. The target audience is low-income
minority residents living near Superfund sites in
Richmond, California.
14. Waipi'o Valley Community Association.
Honoka'a, HI $19,500
Waipi'o Valley Stream Restoration Project.
Waipi'o Valley is an agricultural area with a high
percentage of low income and Native Hawai'ian
residents who farm, fish and gather food from
streams and the ocean. This very local project
will monitor and survey streams in order to
support stream restoration in the Waipi'o
watershed on the island of Hawai'i. The project
addresses ongoing environmental justice
issues related to water allocations, shortages
and pollution, conflicts over riparian and Native
Hawai'ian rights, and environmental and public
health risks in rural communities.
15. Walker River Paiute Tribe. Shurz, NV -
$19,950
Environmental Assessment of DOD Sites. The
tribe will assess the scope of environmental
damage caused by ordnance contamination
from naval aircraft bombing on the reservation.
They will research land contamination, ord-
nance solid wastes, and risks and effects on
human health. This information will aid tribal
leaders in the decision-making process and
improve communication with the U.S. Depart-
ment of Defense. The project will also include
outreach and education workshops for commu-
nity residents on potential underground haz-
ards.
I9 US Environmental Protection Agency Pul
-------
APPENDIX B: National and Regional Budget Summary
Despite its limited budget, the Region 9 Environmental Justice Small Grant program
has directly benefitted communities impacted by environmental problems and has
resulted in tangible improvements.
Figure 1: Projects funded
National Projects Funded
ISO
160
140-
120-
100-
80-
60-
40-
20
' Ji
,
. :
_0)
Q
J5
'cc
CO
*-
0
c
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Figure 2: Regional and National
Budgets
Actual Region 9
EJ Grants Budget *
Total dollar value
requested in Region 9
Total National
EJ Grants Budget
$3,000,000
$2,500,000 -
$o
*Total amount of awards in
Region 9 was greater than
the national average be-
cause additional funding was
available from the EPA
regions that did not award
their allotted budgets.
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Figure 3: Number of proposal submitted 12°
compared to actual proposals funded in
Region 9. 100
Region 9 projects funded
Region 9 proposals submitted
U.S. EPA Headquarters Library
Mail code 3201
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington DC 20460
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Each year communities
throughout the Region that
have developed innovative
ideas for addressing their
local environmental prob-
lems submit proposals to
this program. Unfortunately,
because of the limited
amount of funding, we are
only able to fund a small
portion of these projects.
-------
Highlighting Success was prepared by the EPA Region 9 Environmental Justice Team. The
following individuals and organizations responded to the survey and shared personal
experience, opinions and insight into the smalt grant program:
California Institute for Rural Studies* Davis, California (FY95)
El Pueblo Clinic, TCE Program, Tucson, Arizona (FY95)
Environmental Health Coalition, San Diego, California (FY94, FY96, FY97)
Golden Gate University, School of Law, San Francisco, California {P.Y94)
Hualapai Tribe, Peach Springs, Arizona (FY97)
Los Angeles Conservation Corp, Los Angeles, California (FY96)
Native Hawaiian Advisory Council, Honolulu, Hawaii (FY96)
Pinoleville Band of Porno Indians, Ukiah, California (FY97)
Puna Malama Pono, Inc, Pahoa, Hawaii (FY95, FY97)
Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community, Scottsdate, Arizona (FY95)
Sierra Club, Los Angeles, California (FY95)
Sonora Environmental Research Institute, Inc., Tucson, Arizona (FY97)
St. Peter's Housing Committee, San Francisco, California (FY97)
Tufts University, School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts (FY95)
University of Hawaii, William S. Richardson School of Law, Manoa, Hawaii (FY94)
-------
Highlighting Success was prepared by the EPA Region 9 Environmental Justice Team. The
following individuals and organizations responded to the survey and shared personal
experience, opinions and insight into the small grant program:
California Institute for Rural Studies, Davis, California (FY95)
El Pueblo Clinic, TCE Program, Tucson, Arizona (FY95)
Environmental Health Coalition, San Diego, California (FY94, FY96, FY97)
Golden Gate University, School of Law, San Francisco, California (FY94)
Hualapai Tribe, Peach Springs, Arizona (FY97)
Los Angeles Conservation Corp, Los Angeles, California (FY96)
Native Hawaiian Advisory Council, Honolulu, Hawaii (FY96)
Pinoleville Band of Pomo Indians, Ukiah, California (FY97)
Puna Malama Pono, Inc, Pahoa, Hawaii (FY95, FY97)
Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community, Scottsdale, Arizona (FY95)
Sierra Club, Los Angeles, California (FY95)
Sonora Environmental Research Institute, Inc., Tucson, Arizona (FY97)
St. Peter's Housing Committee, San Francisco, California (FY97)
Tufts University, School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts (FY95)
University of Hawaii, William S. Richardson School of Law, Manoa, Hawaii (FY94)
-------
Progress reports were reviewed for projects completed by the following organizations:
African American Development Association, Oakland, California (FY97, FY95)
Asian Pacific Environmental Network, Oakland, California (FY96, FY95)
Asian Immigrant Women's Advocates, Oakland, California (FY96, FY94)
BorderLinks, Tucson, Arizona (FY98)
California Rural Legal Assistance, Pomona, California (FY96)
Chinatown Resource Center, San Francisco, California (FY96)
Communities for a Better Environment, Los Angeles, California (FY97)
Dine Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment, Arizona (Dine Care) (FY95, FY98)
Don't Waste Arizona/Dine Alliance, Winslow, Arizona (FY95, FY97)
Environmental Health Coalition, San Diego, California (FY94, FY96, FY97)
Metropolitan Area Advisory Committee, National City, California (FY95)
National Council of Negro Women, Sylmar, California (FY97)
Ramona Gardens Resident Advisory Council, Los Angeles, California (FY95)
San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners, San Francisco, California (FY96)
Save San Francisco Bay Association, Oakland, California (FY96)
Urban Habitat Program, San Francisco, California (FY97)
-------
US Environmental Protection Agency Publication #909-R-99-002. Highlighting Success: The Region 9 Environmental Justice Small Grant Program
------- |