Communities in the six New England states and 10 New England tribes are eligible to compete for a federal grant program offering $10 million to help address environmental and energy justice concerns, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 1 press release said. The funding, announced on July 1, is to create an Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center (EJ TCTAC) in the region, the release said.
"Under this new Region 1 grant opportunity, EPA will again partner with the U.S. Department of Energy to build upon and complement the initial EJ TCTAC effort by focusing on delivering technical assistance specifically within the six New England states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont) and 10 Tribal Nations," the news release said.
David Cash, regional administrator for EPA New England, said in the release that he was "thrilled at this grant opportunity to have a technical assistance resource center specifically to serve New England communities as they work to tackle environmental justice concerns."
The $10 million grant offer is part of a $177 million investment the EPA announced in March to create EJ TCTACs across the country "to help underserved and overburdened communities access funds from President Biden's Investing in America agenda, including historic investments to advance environmental and energy justice," the EPA stated in the release.
EJ TCTACs provide training and technical assistance to help community groups, nonprofits and local governments navigate federal, state and private grant application systems; write strong grant proposals; and effectively manage grant funding, the release said.
The center will also provide guidance on "engagement in governmental processes, community outreach, meeting facilitation, and translation and interpretation services for limited English-speaking participants," the release said.
A Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will be issued by the end of July for eligible entities interested in serving as the Region 1 EJ TCTAC to apply for the grant. Eligible applicants include public and private universities and colleges, other nonprofit institutions of higher education such as community colleges, public and private nonprofit institutions and intertribal consortiums, the release said. Organizations or entities that previously received EJ TCTAC funding will not be eligible to apply.
The establishment of EJ TCTACs aligns with the Biden-Harris Administration's Justice40 Initiative, which aims to direct 40% of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities, the release said.
"New England has many forward-thinking people and organizations, and we recognize that many of our communities have solutions to the environmental challenges they face but haven't received the resources needed to produce results," Cash said in the release. "Having a New England technical assistance center will help build capacity and access federal funding to advance environmental justice across the region."