c/EPA OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE United States Office of Enforcement and November 2010 Environmental Protection Agency Compliance Assurance Office of Environmental Justice (2201 A) http://epa.gov/environmentaliustice/arants/ei-smarants.html Environmental Justice Small Grants Program FACT SHEET Background/ Objective The EPA's Office of Environmental Justice established the Environmental Justice Small Grants Program (EJ Small Grants) in 1994. The purpose of this grant program is to support and empower communities that are working on local solutions to local environmental and/or public health issues. The long-term goal of the EJ Small Grants Program is to help affected communities create self-sustaining, community-based partnerships that will continue to improve local environments in the future. Below is a summary of the number of grants and total program funding for every year since 1994. Year Total Funding Number of grants 1994 $500,000 61 1995 $3,000,000 170 1996 $2,800,000 152 1997 $2,700,000 139 1998 $2,500,000 134 1999 $1,490,000 95 2000 $899,000 61 2001 $1,300,000 88 2002 $1,113,000 74 2003 $930,000 55 2004 $423,545 17 2005 $625,000 25 2006-2007 $1,000,000 20 2008-2009 $800,000 40 2010 $1,900,000 76 through dozens of local projects. Past projects have addressed a variety of issues, including: ¦ Identifying air pollutants from truck emissions and other sources at Port Newark in New Brunswick; ¦ New Jersey; educating youth about the harmful effects of toxic substances such as asbestos and lead paint in Chicago, Illinois; ¦ Educating Albuquerque, New Mexico residents and businesses on ways to properly dispose of hazardous waste; ¦ Conducting residential energy efficiency workshops, training in Kansas City, Missouri for Spanish speaking communities; and ¦ Ensuring that local people in Barrow, Alaska have a voice in the decision making on oil and gas development projects in their village and the adjacent offshore area. FY 2010 Focus This year's grants will continue to aid community projects and will support EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson's top five priorities: ¦ Improving air quality; ¦ Managing chemical risks; ¦ Cleaning up hazardous-waste disposal sites; ¦ Reducing greenhouse gas emissions; and ¦ Protecting America's water. In addition to the traditional criteria, EPA encouraged applications focused on addressing the disproportionate impacts of climate change in communities by emphasizing climate equity, energy efficiency, renewable energy, local green economy, and green jobs capacity building. We anticipate announcing the FY2011 EJ Small Grant request for proposals solicitation in Winter 2010 (see pg. 2 for eligibility requirements). The program has supported a diverse group of community-based recipients from all over the nation, working to create healthy, sustainable communities Eligible Applicants An eligible applicant MUST BE: (1) incorporated non-profit organization as designated by the Internal Revenue Service; (2) a non-profit organization, recognized by the state, ------- territory, commonwealth, or tribe in which it is located; For More Information (3) a city, township, county government; OR (4) a Native American tribal government (Federally recognized. In addition, an eligible applicant must be able to demonstrate that it has worked directly with, or provided services to, the affected community. An "affected community," for the purposes of this assistance agreement program, is a community that is disproportionately impacted by environmental harms and risks and has a local environmental and/or public health issue that is identified in the proposal. The focus of this assistance agreement program is to build the capacity of community-based organizations to address environmental and/or public health issues at the local level. * Generally, a quasi-governmental entity is one that: (1) has a close association with the government agency, but is not considered a part of the government agency; (2) was created by the government agency but is exempt from certain legal and administrative requirements imposed on government agencies; or (3) was not created by the government agency but performs a public purpose and is significantly supported financially by the government agency. More information about the EJ Small Grants Program and summaries of recent grantee projects is available at: http://epa.gov/environmentaliustice/qrants/ei- smqrants.html EPA's Commitment to Environmental Justice " We must take special pains to connect with those who have been historically underrepresented in EPA decision-making, including the disenfranchised in our cities and rural areas, communities of color, native Americans, people disproportionately impacted by pollution, and small businesses, cities, and towns working to meet their environmental responsibilities. Like all Americans, they deserve an EPA with an open mind, a big heart and a willingness to listen...As we meet these challenges, we must be sensitive to the burdens pollution has placed on vulnerable subpopulations, including children, the elderly, the poor and all others who are at particular risk to threats to health and the environment. We must seek their full partnership in the greater aim of identifying and eliminating the sources of pollution in their neighborhoods, schools and homes." EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson ------- |