AK - EPA announces $882,806 for environmental justice projects in Alaska
SEATTLE — Yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $882,806 to fund two projects in Alaska.
The selectees will use the funds to ensure disadvantaged communities that have historically suffered from underinvestment have access to clean air and water and climate resilience solutions.
The grant is available through EPA’s Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving Cooperative Agreement program. This is the largest investment ever announced under this longstanding EPA program.
“Across the Pacific Northwest our communities can see and feel the impacts of legacy pollution and climate change in their day-to-day lives,” said EPA Region 10 Administrator Casey Sixkiller. “These funds are an opportunity for historically underserved areas to advance community driven solutions that improve public health and the environment.”
“I am glad to see new and innovative approaches to community health and food security in Alaska receiving this funding,” said Representative Mary Sattler Peltola. “Alaskans see the impacts of our changing environment daily, and we are all focused on how we can protect our friends and families and continue to thrive as we have for generations. I look forward to seeing the results of these health assessments and community projects and how they will inform our next steps as a state.”
EPA’s EJCPS program provides financial assistance to eligible organizations working to address local environmental or public health issues in their communities. In Alaska, the following organizations were selected:
- Alaska Municipal League - $500,000 to produce a health impact assessment and climate action and resilience plan for each participating community.
- Prince William Sound Science and Technology Institute - $382,806 to support the growth of the marine farming industry in PWS and coastal Alaskan communities.
The grant program directly advances the Justice40 initiative to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
EPA Region 10 (Pacific Northwest) - Serving Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and 271 Tribal Nations. Visit us online, follow us on Twitter and Facebook and subscribe to our RSS feed.
