Josh Shapiro, Governor • Richard Negrin, Acting DEP Secretary

Greetings, Environmental Justice partners!

We hope you are staying safe and well. The Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) team is writing to send you important updates and resources from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

We would like to share with you some time sensitive information on some upcoming EPA Environmental and Climate Justice Communities Grant Programs. Please see the linked Fact Sheets for details associated with the respective programs for which Request for Applications (RFAs) were released last week.

EPA EJ Grants and Funding Opportunities

The Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS) Cooperative Agreement Program will provide an estimated total of $30 million in funding directly to community-based nonprofit organizations (CBOs) and partnerships of these organizations), with $5 million reserved for small CBOs with five or fewer full-time employees. In total, the Agency anticipates funding approximately 50 awards of $500,000 and 30 awards of $150,000.

EPA will host a Live Webinar on Tuesday January 24th @ 2PM to answer questions and facilitate application submission. There will be dedicated staff members available to provide support as needed.
Fact Sheet on Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program (PDF)

The Environmental Justice Government-to-Government (EJG2G) Program EJG2G Program (formerly known as the State Environmental Justice Cooperative Agreement program) will provide an estimated total of $70 million in funding. Of this, $20 million will be for State governments to be used in conjunction with CBO partners, $20 million will be for local governments with CBO partners, $20 million will be for Federally Recognized Tribal Nations with CBO partners, and $10 million will be for US territories and remote tribes w/ limited access to CBO partners. In total the Agency anticipates funding approximately 70 projects of up to $1 million each for a 3-year project.

EPA will host a Live Webinar on Thursday January 26th @ 2PM to answer questions and facilitate application submission. There will be dedicated staff members available to provide support as needed.
Fact Sheet on the Environmental Justice Government-to-Government Program (PDF)

In order to meet the goals and objectives of Executive Orders 14008 (Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad) and 13985 (Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government) and demonstrate the EPA’s and Administration’s commitment to achieving environmental justice, and embedding environmental justice into Agency programs, EPA is issuing these RFAs. The increase in resources EPA is receiving from the Inflation Reduction Act, particularly for grants and technical assistance, serves as an incredible boost to the support that EPA can provide to our governmental and non-governmental partners to benefit communities that need it most. These two grant programs are pillars for EPA to deliver resources for communities with EJ concerns.

The grants under these two programs are crucial to supporting vulnerable and overburdened communities disproportionately affected by pollution and environmental health risks. By ensuring that applicant's partner with community-based nonprofit organizations, EPA is reaffirming its commitment to bring all to the table, enabling communities to have a stronger voice in how funding and resources are allocated where they live, work, worship, and play. This Administration has made it clear that delivering environmental justice is a top priority, especially in marginalized communities. Consistent with the Administration’s Justice 40 initiative, EPA is considering and prioritizing direct and indirect benefits to underserved communities in the development of solicitations for grant applications and in evaluating grant applications

The mission of the EPA is to protect human health and the environment for all people with an emphasis on assisting those communities adversely and disproportionately affected by environmental, climate, and human health harms and risks. EPA is working to live up to its promise to protect human health and the environment made to ALL people in our country over 50 years ago. We can only do this by acknowledging the adverse effects of policies that have historically kept communities with EJ concerns out of the room, resulting in them being overburdened and not receiving the benefit of a clean environment. Our country will not deliver on EPA’s original promise unless we put environmental justice at the forefront of our work.

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Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, 400 Market Street Harrisburg, PA 17101

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400 Market Street
Harrisburg, PA | 17101 US

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