For Immediate Release: November 16, 2020
Media Contact: Soledad
Calvino, 415-972-3512, [email protected]
U.S. EPA Announces $200,000 Environmental Justice Grant
to California Office of Planning & Research
Agency awards $2 million to states and tribes nationwide
for communities facing environmental justice challenges that are
impacted by COVID-19
SAN FRANCISCO — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) announced the selection of the California Office of Planning
and Research’s Strategic Growth Council to receive $200,000 for
trainings to communities to address air quality and COVID-19 – the respiratory
disease shown to disproportionately impact individuals exposed to
higher levels of air pollution.
“EPA is working to improve the environment and public
health conditions of low-income and minority communities that have
been disproportionately impacted by the COVD-19 pandemic,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator John
Busterud. This grant assistance will provide
meaningful tools for those Californians in the greatest of need.”
The Strategic Growth Council will build capacity within
California communities facing environmental justice challenges to
address environmental issues as well as the disproportionate impacts
of COVID-19. This newly funded project will empower community leaders
from throughout California to drive change through a two-phase
training and technical assistance program called Partners Advancing
Climate Equity.
“The California Strategic Growth Council (SGC) is
thrilled to receive a State Environmental Justice Cooperative
Agreement grant,” said SGC Executive Director Louise Bedsworth.
“We’re grateful to U.S. EPA for helping SGC convene a cohort of local
leaders eager to build skills and partnerships to advance equitable
climate and environmental solutions in their own frontline
communities, which is even more important as these communities
respond to and recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
EPA has been actively supporting COVID-19 response
efforts across the country to protect public health. As part of these
efforts, EPA is providing $2 million nationwide in State
Environmental Justice Cooperative Agreement (SEJCA) grant funding to
states, local governments and tribes. SEJCA-funded projects benefit
low income and minority communities disproportionately impacted by
the global pandemic.
Funding will be provided once all legal and
administrative requirements are satisfied.
Initially, $1 million was set aside for these
environmental justice projects. Due to the agency’s desire to expand
the program and further combat health challenges that have been
exacerbated by COVID, EPA selected an additional five grantees to
increase the total awards to $2 million.
Through the State Environmental Justice Cooperative
Agreement Program, EPA is providing grants over a two-year period to
advance collaborative work with communities facing environmental
justice challenges. The goal is to further understand, promote and
integrate approaches to provide meaningful and measurable
improvements for public health and the environment.
For more information, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/state-environmental-justice-cooperative-agreement-and-covid-19-2020-project
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