The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted approximately $1 million in grant funding to help promote environmental justice in California.
These grants will support a total of 13 new initiatives across the state, according to a June 29 EPA news release. The programs include COVID-19 pandemic response, air and water surveillance, food availability, community planning and agriculture, eco-friendly employment and infrastructure, farmworker safety and disaster preparation and planning.
“Through these grants, EPA is funding innovative projects across California based on community priorities,” EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman said in the release. “Our goal is to achieve positive impacts through the meaningful involvement and fair treatment of the communities we serve, providing them the resources to advance environmental justice.”
The grants, distributed through the Environmental Justice Small Grants and Collaborative Problem-Solving initiatives, will be used to serve underserved communities working to address local environmental and public health issues. These initiatives are supported by the American Rescue Plan, congressional funding and Ports Initiative grants, the release reported.
Included among the grant recipients in California are Special Service for Groups Inc./Asian Pacific Islander Forward Movement, Grow2Zero FARMS and the Center for Environmental Health, the release reported.
