International District
Housing Alliance
Seattle, WA
Center for Environmental
Information, Inc.
Rochester, NY
Muskegon Co. Environmental
Coordinating Council
Muskegon, Ml
Clean Air
Council
Philadelphia, Pi
Groundwork Denver
Pacoima Beautiful
Grace Hill
Settlement House
St. Louis, MO
Pacoima, CA
Northwest New Mexico
Council of Governments
DeKalb County
Board of Health
Decatur, GA
Gallup, NM
The Brownfields program will
provide $50,000 for every
region to complete a Targeted
Brownfields Assessment
(TBA) on each project. The
money is used to provide
Phase I and Phase II assess-
ments (about $5,000-$8,000
and $50,000, respectively).
American Bar Association
The ABA is inviting public-
service minded attorneys to
consider volunteering their
services to help meet the vari-
ous needs of existing CARE
communities.
Support Building
for CARE:
EPA's Brownfields Program
Oneida Co.
Health Dept.
Utica, NY
City of
New
Haven
^tDSrX Community Action for a Renewed Environment
(gg) CARE Program
pro^ Quarterly Highlights — May 2006
Early Success for CARE:
The Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) program was designed by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to help communities address risks from various sources of toxic pollutants in their
local environment. CARE promotes local action by providing technical support and federal funding directly to
community-based collaborative partnerships. There are four steps in the CARE process: joining together,
identifying problems & solutions, implementing solutions & reducing risks, and becoming self-sustaining.
CARE has already seen success with the 12 current CARE communities reporting first-quarter achievements
in each of these four stages. Nine of the 12 communities have strengthened their capacity to address environ-
mental concerns by holding partnership meetings and adding at least one new partner to their project. Seven
communities have effectively leveraged in-kind or financial support, and five have already identified problems
and early opportunities for risk reduction activities. More detailed information about each of the 12 communi-
ties' efforts can be found inside under "CARE Communities in Action".
CARE was launched in 2005 with 12 cooperative agreements awarded across the nation.
CARE will add several more communities to the program in 2006.
2005 CARE Communities
RCAP
Solutions,
Level I grant
"if^Level II grant
CARE Links to the Public Health Community:
CARE is helping to link the public health and environmental fields through various efforts, including presenta-
tions at conferences for the National Association of County and City Health Officials, Society of Public Health
Educators, American Public Health Association, and CDC's National Healthy Communities.
CARE
Mail Code 8001A
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20460
Phone: 1-877-CARE-909
Inside This Premier Edition:
CARE Communities in Action p. 2-4
2006 RFP Webcasts p. 4
Tools and Resources ......p. 4
v>EPA
http://www.epa.gov/care
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U.S. EPA CARE Program: Quarterly Highlights - May 2006
CARE Communities in Action;
Joining Together
Working with Governmental Partners
in addition to the cooperative agreement with each Regional EPA office,
all of the CARE communities have developed strong county, state or fed-
eral partnerships. These additional agencies working along with stake-
holder groups are as varied as the communities they support: from the
U.S. Department of Agriculture partnering with the Muskegon County Environmental Coordinating Council (Ml), to
the New Mexico Environment Department working on the Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments CARE
project. Furthermore, the Clean Air Council (Philadelphia, PA) is broadening its partnership to include the U.S.
Coast Guard, as this project is seeking to identify strategies to reduce pollution in Philadelphia ports.
"The CARE team has been wonderful with their
assistance. I didn't realize what this partner-
ship would mean to this project.
Communities are very impressed with the level
of commitment from EPA."
—RCAP Solutions, quarterly report.
Involving Local Governments
The Pacoima Beautiful Community Partnership (CA) stressed that it was most important to keep the local elected
officials knowledgeable about CARE activities. Both the president of the city council and the local city council
representative are supportive of the project because they are kept informed on the scope of the work involving their
community. All CARE projects have their local government as a partner and several of the CARE grantees are lo-
cal city governments.
Regional Coordination
EPA's regional offices are aligning themselves to better target programmatic resources, including CARE, the Indoor
Air Program, and the Brownfields Program, to name a few. For example, Region 5 has recently established the
Western Michigan Children's Environmental Health Initiative, which will coordinate ongoing efforts in Muskegon,
Battle Creek, Grand Rapids, and Kalamazoo. The Muskegon County Environmental Coordinating Council CARE
project will be a member of this initiative.
Identifying Problems & Solutions
Addressing Cultural Diversity
Tagalog, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Spanish are
just a few of the many languages that are needed for effective com-
munity outreach in the current CARE communities. The Interna-
tional District Housing Alliance (Seattle, WA) held a Cultural Compe-
tency training session to strengthen the overall coalition. In Colo-
rado, Groundwork Denver is using the Promotora model to provide
toxic reduction tips to homeowners. The Promotora model is an in-
formal leadership model of creative ways people can meet their
needs when access to services is limited. Promotoras are trained
minority health care professionals who speak the same language,
Community members gather for a training session Nve in Similai" communities, understand Culture perceptions, and
with Seattle's International District Housing Alliance, have the trust Of the diverse populations they deal with.
Effectively Using Developed Tools
National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO) encourages community-based environmental
health initiatives similar to CARE through local public health departments. Recognizing a strategic connection be-
tween the two programs, CARE has worked closely with NAC-
CHO over the past three years to promote CARE and to develop
mutually beneficial tools and resources. NACCHO's tool, the
Protocol for Assessing Community Excellence in Environmental
Health (PACE-EH), assists communities in creating partnerships
and assessing their environmental health risks. Over 100 com-
munities have successfully implemented PACE-EH since 1995,
including three current CARE communities: Oneida County
CARE (NY), the Muskegon County Environmental Coordinating
Council (Mi), and the DeKalb County CARE Program (GA).
Over 90 attendees were present at Oneida County
CARE's Showcase Event held November 10, 2005.
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11.S EPA CARE Program: Quarterly Highlights - May 2006
Page 3
Implementing Solutions & Reducing Risks
Assisting Locally-Owned Small Businesses
Nine CARE communities have indicated that they are providing pollution prevention assistance to local businesses.
Groundwork Denver (CO) is providing bi-lingual assistance to auto repair shops. Over 100 small business owners
in the International District in Seattle indicated that they would like to learn more about waste prevention and vermin
management, as well as air quality issues related to transportation, from their local CARE Alliance.
Working with Water
Ten CARE communities are working on a range of water
issues, from protecting Lake Michigan to protecting drink-
ing water in Oneida County, NY. The Green New Haven
(CT) project developed a coastal benefits initiative that
integrates toxic reduction efforts as part of its draft Coastal
Program Plan. The Coastal Program Plan aims to protect
portions of Long Island Sound, while providing opportuni-
ties for public access as well as conservation.
A potential "before and after" scenario included in New
Haven's River Street Municipal Development Plans.
Increasing Awareness of Air Quality Issues
The Clean Air Partnership (St. Louis, MO) held an open house to increase
awareness about community efforts to improve air quality. Examples include
local efforts to improve indoor air quality, reduce diesel emissions at area
schools, establish and maintain a local clean air hotline, and implement an
environmentally friendly cleaning supplies campaign.
Reducing Toxic Emissions
Emissions from trucks, buses, cars and other mobile sources have been identified by seven out of twelve CARE
projects as a community problem. The Rochester CARE Collaborative to Reduce Health & Environmental Risks of
Toxic Substances (NY) worked to improve the air quality and health of students by targeting diesel retrofits for the
seven refrigerator trucks delivering food to school cafeterias. Resident awareness of mobile source air pollution
was increased through the inclusion of air quality messages on the trucks.
Becoming Self-Sustaining St. Louis' Clean Air Partnership Hotline
Additional Assistance for Brownfields increases awareness of childhood asthma.
CARE communities are taking advantage of the additional technical assistance provided to them for Brownfields
assessment. The Clean Air Partnership (St. Louis, MO) is working to conduct a Brownfields assessment on the
proposed site of the Mary Meachum Freedom Crossing, a nationally recognized Underground Railroad site. The
National Park Service may consider developing this site into a national tourist destination, benefitting nearby low-
income communities.
Alliances with Academic Partners
One example of the benefits of leveraging partner resources is the Sullivan County (NH) collaborative formed be-
tween RCAP (Resources for Communities and People) Solutions and Antioch New England Institute. Both enti-
ties—RCAP, funded by CARE, and Antioch, funded by US Department of Agriculture—formed a joint steering com-
mittee and advisory group of 40 members to work in four areas: use of toxic and hazardous materials, recycling and
composting, education and outreach, and residual management. Another successful university partnership is the
Seattle International District project that is partnering with the University of Washington. Several University Depart-
ments, such as Architecture and Urban Planning, Public Health, and Engineering are working to collect community
data, including documenting air toxics within the neighborhood air-shed and community illnesses.
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Page 4
U.S. EPA CARE Program: Quarterly Highlights - May 2006
2006 Request for Proposals Webcast Seminars:
The 2006 CARE request for proposals was announced February 9,
and applications were due April 10. This year, CARE conducted two
national webcast sessions for potential applicants. These webcasts
allowed potential applicants to ask questions about the CARE program
and application process. Turnout was strong, with over 200 people
registering for the training. In addition, participant feedback was highly
positive, with 78% of participants that provided feedback reporting that
they had learned a great deal from the seminar, and 88% saying they
would recommend the seminar to others.
Select comments from Webcast participants:
"This is a convenient and easy way to commu-
nicate without having to travel. The seminar
was well organized and implemented."
"It was very helpful—you answered my ques-
tions clearly, and fielded other questions I
hadn't anticipated."
Tools and Resources for CARE Communities:
"Since the Clean Air Council's project addresses port pollution, it was helpful to see a section of this document dedicated to EPA's
'Clean Ports USA' program. This section was very useful in offering an overview of the program and highlighting accomplish-
ments at other ports." -- Sean Jacobs, Clean Air Council on CARE's Community Guide to EPA's Voluntary Programs
The Community Guide to
EPA's Voluntary Programs:
Research & Development > Communtv Action lor a Renewed Environnent > Resource Guice
The Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) Resource Guide
The Community Action for a Renewed Environmert (CARE) Resource Guide is a tool that will enable useis to navigate EPAs Web site
and find information about toxics in their local communities This page offers an introduction to the Resouxe Guide; additiorally, useis
are given a cioice of Either viewing the guide online or downloading i copy of :he guide in PDF format. Both of these options are available
through links on the page below.
Go Directly to Resource Guide I View the Resjurce Guids in PDF Ftrmat (f
Do a Keyword Search of the Resource Guide:
| AIR POLLUTION
"US
Introduction to the CARE Resource Guide
Hi; .M« .ill h»l. mi th« FPtt W.h nil. and M
n,h.lr„ni»..» 111, ai.iin.rn.-il i. vninmmmn.il.
The Resource Guide enables users to navigate
EPA's Web site to find on-line resources related
to toxics that may be found in local communities.
While designed to help communities in the CARE
program, it can be used by anyone interested in
working with communities. Available online at:
http://cfpub.epa. gov/care/index.cfm?fuseaction=
Guide.showlntro
Stay tuned for details on planning for the 2nd Annual CARE National Training Workshop
to be held in October 2006...
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