Protect Earth News

April 4, 2024

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) created the Environmental and Climate Justice Program, the largest investment in environmental and climate justice in U.S. history when it was signed into law by President Biden on August 16, 2022. Under this program, EPA was provided $3 billion to award grants and fund related technical assistance to benefit disadvantaged communities. The Community Change Grants accepts applications until November 2024.

To help organizations with capacity issues, EPA inaugurated 17 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers across the nation, to help communities apply for funding from the EPA and other agencies. In addition, the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program will administer $550 million to community-based organizations and universities that will re-grant funds to smaller organizations. The Environmental Justice Government-to-Government Program will disburse $70 million to projects that include everything from monitoring to cleanups and research. 

The Community Change Grants deliver on President Biden’s historic commitment to advance equity and justice, including his Justice40 Initiative. The Community Change Grants will deliver 100 percent of the benefits of this program to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. This program also dedicates $200 million of Inflation Reduction Act funding to provide technical assistance to applicants and grant recipients, which will enhance the ability of disadvantaged communities to access resources for environmental and climate justice activities.

The activities to be performed under the grants are expected to fall under the following categories:

• Climate resiliency and adaptation.
• Mitigating climate and health risks from urban heat islands, extreme heat, wood heater emissions, and wildfire events.
• Community-led air and other (including water and waste) pollution monitoring, prevention, and remediation.
• Investments in low- and zero-emission and resilient technologies and related infrastructure.
• Workforce development that supports the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants.
• Reducing indoor toxics and indoor air pollution.
• Facilitating the engagement of disadvantaged communities in state and federal advisory groups, workshops, rulemakings, and other public processes.

The Community Change Grants Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), administered through the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights (OEJECR), has several unique characteristics to advance environmental and climate justice, many of which are responsive to feedback and input the agency has heard from communities. These include: 

• Rolling Applications: The NOFO will be open for a year, closing on November 21, 2024, and EPA will review applications on a rolling basis. This allows applicants to utilize technical assistance and possibly resubmit a new application if not initially selected. EPA encourages applicants to apply as early as possible.
• Two-track Submission Processes: Applications can be submitted under two separate tracks depending on the project scope and funding requested.
  • Track I, Community-Driven Investments for Change, is expected to award approximately $1.96 billion for 150 projects for $10-20 million each.
  • Track II, Meaningful Engagement for Equitable Governance, is expected to award approximately $40 million for 20 projects for $1-3 million each.
• Oral Presentations: Track I applicants may also be invited to participate in an oral presentation. These oral presentations will enable EPA reviewers to hear directly from the applicants and their partners to learn more about community priorities, desired outcomes, and plans for long-term sustainability. This new format is responsive to community requests to engage with EPA in more accessible ways.
• Target Investment Areas: Out of the $2 billion in funding, EPA has identified five Target Investment Areas (TIA) to help ensure that communities with unique circumstances, geography, and needs can equitably compete for funding. These are:
  • Tribes in Alaska: $150 million for projects benefitting Indian Tribes in Alaska including funds for cleanup of contaminated lands.
  • Tribes: $300 million for projects benefitting Tribal communities in the other states. 
  • Territories: $50 million for projects benefitting disadvantaged communities in the United States’ territories of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
  • Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities: $50 million for projects benefitting small and rural areas that lack fixed, legally determined geographic boundaries, such as Colonias.
  • U.S.-Southern Border Communities: Consistent with EPA’s longstanding commitment to addressing transborder pollution challenges, $100 million for projects benefitting non-Tribal disadvantaged communities within 100 kilometers north of the U.S.-Mexico border.
• Technical Assistance: The $200 million for technical assistance is available in direct response to feedback from communities and environmental justice leaders who have long called for capacity building support for communities and their partners as they work to access critical federal resources. With this funding, there are two TA programs dedicated for the Community Change Grants. Applicants can learn more about, and express interest in, the technical assistance on EPA’s Community Change Grants Technical Assistance webpage.

Read the Community Change Grants NOFO.

OEJECR will also host multiple informational webinars while the NOFO is open, with the first being held on December 7, 2023. These webinars will address questions, and some may facilitate the formation of partnerships and information sharing. More information on upcoming webinars can be found on EPA’s Inflation Reduction Act Community Change Grants Program webpage.

Learn more about environmental justice at EPA

Learn more about Inflation Reduction funding at EPA

For up-to-date information about the NOFO, including information on the webinars, subscribe to the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights’ listserv by sending a blank email to: join-epa-ej@lists.epa.gov. Follow OEJECR on X (formerly Twitter): @EPAEnvJustice.

Background

Earlier in 2023, EPA issued a Request for Information, held a dedicated consultation with EPA’s National Environmental Justice Advisory Council, and hosted multiple webinars to gain public input on innovative strategies and approaches for competition design, community engagement, equitable distribution of financial resources, grantee eligibility for funding, capacity-building and outreach, and more. This feedback was crucial in designing key elements of the Community Change Grants and this NOFO, including the Target Investment Areas, incorporating oral presentations, the rolling application period, and more. EPA thanks everyone for their incredibly valuable time and input, which ensured the creation of a more inclusive and accessible grant program.