Information session on this series of three Nature-based Climate Solutions Accelerators, modules on how to grow community capacity for addressing climate change challenges, sponsored by Center for Regenerative Solutions, Trust for Public Land, and Green Infrastructure Leadership Exchange.

EPA issued a final rule that will significantly reduce toxic air pollution from chemical plants, including ethylene oxide and chloroprene. EPA's action will advance the President's commitment to environmental justice by slashing more than 6,200 tons of toxic air pollution each year, dramatically reducing the number of people with elevated cancer risk due to toxic air pollution in communities surrounding plants covered by the rule. Once implemented, the rule will reduce both EtO and chloroprene emissions from covered processes and equipment by nearly 80%. A requirement for these facilities to conduct fence line monitoring for key toxic chemicals is included, and EPA will make the data publicly available to better inform and safeguard nearby communities.

April 23, 2024 10:00 AM – 9:00 PM (Eastern) April 24, 2024 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM (Eastern) April 25, 2024 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Eastern) The National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) will convene an in-person public meeting with a virtual option (hybrid). The meeting is free and open to all members of the public. The meeting discussions will focus on several topics including, but not limited to, workgroup updates, final recommendations for council consideration, presentations, panels, and discussions on protentional charges with various EPA national program offices. Read the draft agenda (https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2024-04/draft-nejac-public-meeting-agenda-april-23-25-2024.pdf)

DOE announced the second cohort of communities selected as part of the Communities Local Energy Action Program (Communities LEAP), a unique technical assistance initiative designed to help disadvantaged communities and those with historical ties to fossil fuel industries take direct control of their clean energy future. The 30 selected communities will receive a total of $18 million worth of technical assistance to create tailored community-wide action plans that reduce local air pollution, increase energy resilience, lower utility costs and energy burdens, and create good paying jobs.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released the 2023 update to its Equity Action Plan, as part of the Administration's whole-of-government equity agenda. This Equity Action Plan is part of EPA's efforts to implement the President's Executive Order on "Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through The Federal Government," which reaffirmed the Administration's commitment to ensure equity and build an America in which all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential.

The Administration announced $600 million for 11 selected Grantmakers under EPA's Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking program, created by President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, the largest investment in climate action in history. This new grant program, which will make it easier for small community-based organizations to access federal environmental justice funding, responds to community feedback about the need to reduce barriers to federal funds and improve the efficiency of the awards process to ensure communities that have long faced underinvestment can access the benefits of the largest climate investment in history. Communities will be able to apply to a Grantmaker for a subgrant to fund a range of different environmental project activities, including (but not limited to) small local clean ups, local emergency preparedness and disaster resiliency programs, environmental workforce development programs for local jobs reducing greenhouse gas emissions, fenceline air quality and asthma related projects, healthy homes programs, and projects addressing illegal dumping.

EPA has announced the selection of 24 recipients that will receive nearly $16 million in P2 grants made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's historic $100 million program investment. The selections are for two grant programs. One grant program will provide P2 businesses with technical assistance to improve health and the environment in disadvantaged communities. A second grant program will assist empower businesses to increase the supply, demand, and use of safer and more sustainable products.

EPA announced the selection of 24 recipients across the country that will collectively receive nearly $16 million in pollution prevention grants through the Investing in America agenda. The funding, made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will support two grant programs for states and state-sponsored colleges to provide businesses with technical assistance to develop and adopt practices that prevent pollution at the source in local communities. The Environmental Justice in Communities grant program will provide pollution prevention technical assistance to businesses to improve human health and the environment in disadvantaged communities. The Environmental Justice Through Safer and More Sustainable Products grant program will assist businesses to increase the supply, demand, and use of safer and more sustainable products, such as those certified by EPA's Safer Choice program, or that conform to EPA's Recommendations for Specifications, Standards and Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing.

EPA's National Compliance Initiatives (NCIs) advance the Agency Strategic Plan's objectives to improve air quality, provide for clean and safe water, ensure chemical safety, and improve compliance with our nation's environmental laws while enhancing shared accountability between the EPA and states and tribes with authorized environmental programs.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $19 million in new grant funding that will work to improve the climate resilience of the nation's water infrastructure. The funding available under this competitive grant opportunity will assist public water systems in underserved communities, small or disadvantaged, that are working to prepare for and reduce vulnerability to impacts from climate change ranging from extreme flooding to extreme drought.

EPA is hosting three informational webinars on the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) expected to be issued under the Inflation Reduction Act's Environmental and Climate Justice (ECJ) Grant Program in 2023. These webinars will provide information on the NOFO and the ECJ Grant Program including who is eligible for the grants, eligible projects, and more. The Agency is seeking public input on the NOFO during the webinars and hopes to hear ideas on potential projects and the types of resources applicants may need.?These webinars are intended for potential applicants and other interested parties.

EPA announced the launch of two Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) for $20 billion across two grant competitions under the historic $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, an Inflation Reduction Act program central to President Biden's Investing in America Agenda and environmental justice goals. The $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund will provide grants to support two-to-three national clean financing institutions, enabling them to partner with the private sector to provide accessible, affordable financing for tens of thousands of clean technology projects nationwide. The $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator will provide grants to support up to seven hub nonprofit organizations, enabling them to provide funding and technical assistance to public, quasi-public, not-for-profit, and non-profit community lenders working in communities with environmental justice concerns--supporting the goal that every community in the country has access to the resources they need to fund clean technology projects. Please find the National Clean Investment Fund NOFO here and the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator NOFO here.

WASHINGTON (July 12, 2023) -- Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposal to strengthen requirements for the removal of lead-based paint hazards in pre-1978 buildings and child care facilities, known as abatement activities, to better protect children and communities from the harmful effects of exposure to dust generated from lead paint, advancing President Biden's whole-of-government approach to protecting families and children from lead exposure. If finalized, this rule is estimated to reduce the lead exposures of approximately 250,000 to 500,000 children under age six per year.

EPA seeking applications through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to bring solar to millions of homes in low-income and disadvantaged communities, funded by the President's Inflation Reduction Act. Residential distributed solar energy will lower energy costs for families, create good-quality jobs in communities that have been left behind, advance environmental justice, and tackle the climate crisis. The Solar for All competition, which was created by the Inflation Reduction Act's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), will expand the number of low-income and disadvantaged communities primed for residential solar investment by awarding up to 60 grants to states, territories, Tribal governments, municipalities, and eligible nonprofits to create and expand low-income solar programs that provide financing and technical assistance, such as workforce development, to enable low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy and benefit from residential solar. The deadline to apply to this competitive grant competition is 26 September 2023. Eligible applicants to Solar for All include states, territories, Tribal governments, municipalities, and eligible nonprofit recipients.

A bill to restore, reaffirm, and reconcile environmental justice and civil rights. (Congressional Record: 22 March 2023 [Senate] Pages S908-S910)

The Government-Wide Procurement Equity Tool is now live. This tool supports Executive Order 13985 and OMB Policy Memo M-23-11 and utilizes data from FPDS and SAM to assist federal agencies with market research, with a focus on small disadvantaged businesses. Users will need to register for an OMB MAX account to access the tool.

On this website, you will find information about what federal agencies are doing to advance environmental justice in communities across America. The Environmental Justice Scorecard is the first-ever government-wide assessment of what the federal government is doing to advance environmental justice. The Environmental Justice Scorecard was created to assess the federal government's progress on advancing environmental justice, to provide transparency for the public, and to increase accountability for federal agencies.

Revitalizing Our Nation's Commitment to Environmental Justice for All
April 21, 2023
This EO states that every person in the Nation must have clean air to breathe; clean water to drink; safe and healthy foods to eat; and an environment that is healthy, sustainable, climate-resilient, and free from harmful pollution and chemical exposure. Restoring and protecting a healthy environment--wherever people live, play, work, learn, grow, and worship--is a matter of justice and a fundamental duty that the Federal Government must uphold on behalf of all people.

President Biden signed an executive order further embedding environmental justice into the work of federal agencies to achieve real, measurable progress that communities can count on. The new Executive Order, Revitalizing Our Nation's Commitment to Environmental Justice for All, will: Deepen the Biden-Harris Administration's whole-of-government commitment to environmental justice; Better protect overburdened communities from pollution and environmental harms; Strengthen engagement with communities and mobilize federal agencies to confront existing and legacy barriers and injustices; Promote the latest science, data, and research, including on cumulative impacts; Expand interagency coordination and launch a new Office of Environmental Justice within the White House Council on Environmental Quality; Increase accountability and transparency in federal environmental justice policy; and Honor and build on the foundation of ongoing environmental justice work.

The Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights' Conflict Prevention and Resolution Center (CPRC) has issued this year's annual report on environmental collaboration and conflict resolution (ECCR) at EPA. This report highlights the EPA's key achievements in providing ECCR in fiscal year 2022 and the infrastructure that supports this work. ECCR continues to be an essential tool used to advance the Agency's goals, including tackling the climate crisis, taking decisive action to advance environmental justice and civil rights, and strengthening tribal, state, and local partnerships.

Join EPA for one of the four webinars to learn more about two new grant opportunities to advance environmental justice in underserved communities. These grants are a critical component of the Administration's Justice40 Initiative which aims to deliver 40% of the overall benefits of climate, clean energy and other investments to disadvantaged communities. Individual grant awards may range from $100,000 to $800,000 for the funding period, or up to $1.2 million for multi-state or multi-Tribal projects. The webinars will provide information on the P2 grant programs, the application process and the P2 Grant Partner Connection List, a new resource to help facilitate partnerships among potential applicants and P2 stakeholders including community organizations. A question and answer session and Spanish interpretation will be provided for each webinar.

EPA announced the availability of $16 million for two new grant opportunities to support states and Tribes in providing technical assistance to businesses seeking to develop and adopt pollution prevention (P2) practices that advance environmental justice in underserved communities. EPA has published two Request for Applications for P2 investments, which were made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, including the Pollution Prevention Grant: Environmental Justice in Communities, and the Pollution Prevention Grant: Environmental Justice Through Safer and More Sustainable Products programs.

The Federal sustainability community is cordially invited to attend the 2023 Federal Environmental Symposium, a hybrid event to be attended October 23-27, 2023 either virtually or in-person. This year's theme for the Symposium "Environment: A Mission Asset" focuses on the sharing of best practices, success stories, partnerships, and challenges and achievements of the federal practitioner community as they apply to your Agency's mission. The event schedule, registration instructions, call for presentation abstracts and continuous updates to the event can be found on the Symposium website at https://www.fedcenter.gov/fes2023.

WASHINGTON (Feb. 14, 2023) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced initial guidance on the design of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) program, created by President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. EPA published two Federal Assistance Listings outlining key parameters of the grant competitions that will ultimately award nearly $27 billion to leverage private capital for clean energy and clean air investments across the country. Federal Assistance Listings are the first public notice requirement to implement a federal grant program.

This Best Practices Guide provides EPA regional Superfund teams with best practices for oversight and enforcement of community involvement (CI) requirements at federal facility National Priority List (NPL) sites. This includes newly proposed best practices and a compilation of existing resources for successful CI. By enhancing CI at federal facility NPL sites through these best practices and the resources, EPA Regions can support EPA's environmental justice (EJ) efforts through their existing oversight role.

EPA announced it is seeking public comment on its proposal to address environmental justice, climate change, and PFAS contamination in its National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives (NECIs). Every four years, EPA selects national initiatives to focus resources on serious and widespread environmental problems where federal enforcement can make a difference. The primary objective of these initiatives is to protect human health and the environment by holding polluters accountable through enforcement and assisting regulated entities to return to compliance. EPA proposes to continue four of the six current national initiatives during the FY 2024-2027 cycle and return two of the current national initiatives to the core enforcement and compliance program. In addition, EPA proposes to address environmental justice concerns in all NECIs, and to add two new NECIs on mitigating climate change and addressing PFAS pollution, for the FY 2024-2027 cycle.

EPA Legal Tools to Advance Environmental Justice (EJ Legal Tools) is an updated and expanded compilation of legal authorities available to EPA for identifying and addressing the disproportionate impact of pollution on underserved and overburdened communities, including communities of color, Indigenous people, and low-income communities. EJ Legal Tools is intended to help EPA decisionmakers and partners understand their authorities to consider and address environmental justice and equity in decision-making, and to promote meaningful engagement.

EPA's EJ Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program provides funding for eligible applicants for projects that address local environmental and public health issues within an affected community. The EJCPS Program assists recipients in building collaborative partnerships to help them understand and address environmental and public health concerns in their communities

New Roadmap to Accelerate Nature-Based Solutions for Climate Progress and Equity The Whitehouse released a Roadmap and over 100 federal informational resources to scale-up nature-based solutions to address climate change, nature loss and inequity. The reports, announced in November during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Egypt, respond to a call from President Biden earlier this year to identify opportunities to expand the use of nature-based solutions across the federal government.

This guidebook provides clear descriptions of the law's tax incentives and funding programs to build a clean energy economy, lower energy costs, tackle climate change, and reduce harmful pollution. The Guidebook will help users better understand how they can benefit from these investments and unlock the full potential of the law. The Guidebook walks through the law program-by-program and provides background on each program's purpose, eligibility requirements, period of availability, and other key details.

During fiscal year (FY) 2022, EPA's enforcement and compliance program continued its mission to target the most serious water, air, land, and chemical violations and hazards that impact communities across the country. Their work reduced, treated or eliminated 95 million pounds of pollutants, and required violators to pay over $300 million in penalties fines and restitution. Our primary focus was advancing environmental justice (EJ), rebuilding EPA's national inspector corps, and working to mitigate the effects of climate change, particularly in communities overburdened by pollution. EPAs FY 2022 accomplishments focused on protecting vulnerable communities using the full range of compliance monitoring and enforcement tools, including inspections, technical assistance supported by advanced technologies, and early actions and innovative remedies to ensure high levels of compliance with federal environmental laws and regulations.

EPA announced a proposal to revise the federal water quality standards regulations to better protect Tribal rights under the Clean Water Act (CWA). With this action, EPA is working to ensure that state and federal water quality standards will protect tribal rights such as the right to fish or gather aquatic plants--that are reserved through treaties, statutes, executive orders, or other sources of federal law. This proposal, once final, would create a regulatory framework that would be applied on a case-specific basis to help ensure that water quality standards protect resources reserved to tribes, such as fish and wild rice. Additionally, the proposed regulatory framework would provide transparency and predictability for tribes, states, regulated parties, and the public.

The November 2022 edition of The Corps Environment is now available and can be accessed online at: https://www.dvidshub.net/publication/issues/65712. This edition highlights providing environmental and economic benefits, in support of Environmental Operating Principle #3. Content includes commentary from Col. Matthew F. Kelly, commander of U.S. Army Environmental Command (USAEC), sharing his impressions after taking command and his focus on building upon USAEC's legacy. This issue also features initiatives from across the Army environmental community that are providing enduring environmental benefits around the globe.

The plan highlights projects, tools, and practices to be applied to the Superfund, Brownfields, Emergency Response, Solid Waste Management, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Corrective Action, and Underground Storage Tank programs. The EJ Action Plan is a working document, and EPA will be reporting on progress as part of a whole-of-government and EPA-wide effort to address the nation's environmental justice challenges, in-line with the priorities of Administration.

The Environmental Justice and Civil Rights in Permitting FAQs provides information to EPA, federal, tribal, state, and local environmental permitting programs on how to integrate EJ into their permitting processes. It also outlines how recipients of EPA financial assistance are obligated to comply with federal civil rights statutes, including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, in their permitting processes.

Implementation of the Energy and Infrastructure Provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
September 12, 2022
This EO lists the administration's eight goals to guide implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and authorizes the new White House Office on Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation to coordinate that process.

This EO lists the administration's eight goals to guide implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and authorizes the new White House Office on Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation to coordinate that process.

The Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Strategic Plan underscores the DOE's commitment to creating a workplace that celebrates Americans of all backgrounds. The plan outlines Departmental actions to sustain an inclusive and accessible work environment by strengthening recruitment, retention and promotion, while removing inequitable barriers to advancement and development opportunities. The plan represents the culmination of months of work at DOE to support President Biden's Executive Order 14035, which reaffirms that the American workforce is at its strongest when it reflects the diverse communities it serves.

(Washington, August 31, 2022) Today, the Biden Administration took a major step forward in achieving the goals of President Biden's Federal Sustainability Plan and Executive Order (E.O.) 14057 Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability by issuing E.O. 14057 Implementing Instructions to Federal agencies.

Through President Biden's historic Executive Order 14057 Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability the U.S. Federal Government leads the world by example again – transforming how it builds, buys, and manages to help make America's economy cleaner, more efficient, and more sustainable.

The purpose of these calls is to inform the public about EPA's environmental justice work and enhance opportunities to maintain an open dialogue with environmental justice advocates. The calls first began in 2010 and were a valuable tool for EPA to learn about environmental justice needs in communities around the country. Recordings and meeting materials for all calls are posted on the website.

EJ Legal Tools highlights the environmental and civil rights statutes EPA implements to achieve the agency's mission to protect human health and the environment for all communities and persons and to ensure that the environmental justice and equity agendas are integrated throughout the agency's policies, programs, and activities. EJ Legal Tools is intended to help EPA decisionmakers and partners understand their authorities to consider and address environmental justice and equity in decision-making, and to promote meaningful engagement.

The DOE awarded $3.6 million to 18 groups and organizations through the Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize -- a first-of-its-kind competition designed to support entrepreneurship and innovation in communities historically underserved in federal climate and energy technology funding. The selected projects are helping develop the next wave of diverse clean energy business owners, executives and workforce that are creating bottom-up solutions for sustainable development. The Inclusive Energy Innovation Prize supports the Biden-Harris Administration's Justice40 initiative to put environmental and economic justice at the center of America's transition to a net-zero economy by 2050.

GSA's Green Building Advisory Committee is a group of private and public sector experts which advises the Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings on how best to achieve the transition to sustainable federal buildings. The Committee recently approved two new Advice Letters on: Environmental Justice & Equity in Federal Sustainable Buildings, and Federal Building Decarbonization.

This edition highlights protecting and preserving our environment, in support of Environmental Operating Principle #4. Content includes commentary from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Environmental Community of Practice leadership, discussing how our actions are directly connected to the environment and shaping a sustainable future. This issue also features initiatives from across the Army environmental community that are protecting and preserving our environment for current and future generations.
Included in this issue:
– U.S. Army Environmental Command highlights the recipients of the Secretary of the Army and Secretary of Defense environmental awards.
– USACE Honolulu District shares how they removed thousands of unexploded ordnances in Saipan.
– USACE St. Paul District discusses progress being made under the Upper Mississippi River Restoration program.
– USACE Charleston District highlights a day in the life of a USACE regulatory project manager.
– U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center shares how they are working to address energy and water resiliency.
– USACE Far East District discusses how their stormwater pollution prevention measures are keeping waterways clean.

The Biden Administration through the EPA awarded $254.5 million in Brownfields grants to 265 communities. The grants are supported by President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides a total of $1.5 billion to advance environmental justice, spur economic revitalization, and create jobs by cleaning up contaminated, polluted, or hazardous brownfield properties. Brownfield projects can range from cleaning up buildings with asbestos or lead contamination, to assessing and cleaning up abandoned properties that once managed dangerous chemicals. Once cleaned up, former brownfield properties can be redeveloped into productive uses such as grocery stores, affordable housing, health centers, museums, parks, and solar farms. The Brownfields Program advances President Biden's Justice40 Initiative, which aims to deliver at least 40 percent of the benefits of certain government programs to disadvantaged communities. Approximately 86 percent of the communities selected to receive funding as part of today's announcement have proposed projects in historically underserved areas.

As directed by President Biden's executive order, the Justice Department and EPA developed a strategy that positions the Biden-Harris Administration to leverage all available legal tools to secure protections for communities that have been overburdened by pollution and environmental injustices. This includes restoring Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs), which EPA's enforcement program has used to provide environmental and/or public health benefits to communities harmed by environmental violations. In the development of this strategy, EPA and the Justice Department engaged in listening sessions to hear directly from impacted communities and other stakeholders. This feedback was critical in shaping today's EJ announcements. A Supplemental Environmental Project is an enforcement tool that EPA used for more than 30 years until the previous administration brought it to a halt. SEPs are local projects that defendants can agree to undertake as part of an enforcement case settlement to help rectify environmental violations. SEPs help to fulfill the goals of the underlying statutes being enforced and can provide important environmental and public health benefits to communities that have been harmed by environmental violations.

EPA's Equity Action Plan provides guidance on how to assess whether underserved communities and their members face systemic barriers in accessing benefits and opportunities through the federal government. This Equity Action Plan is a critical part of EPA's efforts to break through those barriers and advance equity and justice across our efforts to ensure clean water, air, and land for all communities. The plan outlines priority actions that form a critical foundation on which to build meaningful engagement with underserved communities; achieve more equitable and just outcomes, including pollution reductions in communities with environmental justice concerns; and deliver other tangible benefits to underserved communities.

As part of President Biden's National COVID-19 Preparedness Plan, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is releasing the "Clean Air in Buildings Challenge," a call to action and a concise set of guiding principles and actions to assist building owners and operators with reducing risks from airborne viruses and other contaminants indoors. The Clean Air in Buildings Challenge highlights a range of recommendations and resources available to assist with improving ventilation and indoor air quality, which can help to better protect the health of building occupants and reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread.

REMINDER: Registration to attend the 2022 Federal Environmental Symposium is now open! Federal employees and sponsored contractors are invited to attend the Symposium, hosted by NIH as a virtual event on March 28-31, 2022. The theme of this year's event is "Mission, Environment and Our Community". The event is FREE and registration will end Friday, March 18, 2022, so mark your calendar and register now. For more information, please see the Symposium website at https://www.fedcenter.gov/fes2022.

White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) jointly released a new memorandum that commits to elevating Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (ITEK) in federal scientific and policy processes. ITEK is a body of observations, oral and written knowledge, practices, and beliefs that promotes environmental sustainability and the responsible stewardship of natural resources through relationships between humans and environmental systems. It is applied to phenomena across biological, physical, cultural and spiritual systems.

In this fact sheet the Administration is announcing new actions across agencies to support American leadership on clean manufacturing. The industrial sector is also central to tackling the climate crisis, as it is currently responsible for nearly a third of domestic greenhouse gas emissions. By helping manufacturers use clean energy, efficiency upgrades, and other innovative technologies to reduce emissions, the Administration is supporting cleaner industry that can produce the next generation of products and materials for a net-zero economy. These same manufacturing improvements will also protect public health, by reducing releases of air and water pollutants and toxic materials that disproportionately harm low-income households and communities of color.

EPA announced approximately $23 million in two P2 grant funding opportunities for states and tribes, including almost $14 million provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law with no cost share/match requirement. EPA encourages applicants to address environmental justice (EJ) and/or climate pollution in their project(s). Eligible applicants include states, state entities such as universities, U.S. territories and possessions, and federally recognized tribes and intertribal consortia.

To support the EPA's environmental justice (EJ) goals, as well as the Justice40 Initiative in pollution prevention (P2) grant work, EPA developed a mapping tool that allows uses to identify industrial facilities located in or adjacent to underserved communities, including communities with EJ concerns. The P2 EJ Facility Mapping Tool helps prospective P2 grant applicants, grantees and interested stakeholders geographically target facilities in or adjacent to underserved communities within the framework of the P2 program's five industrial sector-based National Emphasis Areas (NEAs). The tool allows users to identify industrial facilities that may be contributing to pollution levels in a selected area, including communities with environmental justice (EJ) concerns.

EPA, as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is seeking applications proposing community-engaged research that will address the drivers and environmental impacts of energy transitions in underserved communities. An information webinar will occur on 10 February 2022, register for the informational webinar here. and the application period closes 28 April 2022.

As part of EPA's outreach and public comment effort on its draft Lead Strategy, the Agency is hosting Zoom virtual public comment sessions in each of its ten geographic regional office areas from early February to early March 2022. The sessions will be an opportunity for the public to provide verbal input on the draft Lead Strategy to EPA. They encourage the public to share with the Agency thoughts on how to address lead issues in their communities during these regional sessions (e.g., Northeast, Southwest, Mid-Atlantic, etc.).

ABSTRACT SUBMITTAL DEADLINE EXTENDED TO FRIDAY JAN. 14th:The Federal sustainability community is cordially invited to attend the 2022 Federal Environmental Symposium, March 28-31, 2022. This year's theme is Mission, Environment, and Our Communities, and will be conducted via webinar-format only. The four day event will focus on Federal sustainability initiatives over the past year while encouraging partnerships, sharing of information, and best practices amongst Federal facilities. The event schedule, registration instructions, call for presentation abstracts (now open until Friday, January 14th), and continuous updates to the event can be found on the Symposium website.

WASHINGTON (Dec. 28, 2021) -- In 2021, under the new leadership of the Biden-Harris Administration and Administrator Michael S. Regan, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took significant steps forward in tackling the climate crisis, advancing environmental justice, protecting the health and safety of communities across the country, and restoring scientific integrity.

The EPA announced $14.1 million in EJ grant funding for 133 grants selected through the Environmental Justice Small Grants (EJSG) and Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement (EJCPS) programs. Ninety-nine EJ Small Grant recipients have been selected to receive up to $75,000 each, and 34 EJCPS grant recipients have been selected to receive up to $200,000 each, following successful completion of the award process. These ninety-nine projects cover a wide array of environmental justice issues including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, air monitoring, indoor/outdoor air quality, food access, community planning, water treatment training, community agriculture, green jobs and infrastructure, emergency preparedness and planning, toxic exposures, water quality, and healthy homes projects.

The EJ webinar series for tribes and indigenous peoples seeks to enhance EJ integration, build capacity, raise awareness of EPA and other federal programs and resources, and provide technical assistance to tribes and indigenous peoples on priority environmental, public health, and other EJ concerns. Please note that the webinars are recorded and available at the website a few weeks after the webinar.

(12/08/2021) President Biden has signed an executive order that demonstrates how the United States will leverage its scale and procurement power to lead by example in tackling the climate crisis. The executive order will reduce emissions across federal operations, invest in American clean energy industries and manufacturing, and create clean, healthy, and resilient communities. The President is building on his whole-of-government effort to tackle the climate crisis in a way that creates well-paying jobs, grows industries, and makes the country more economically competitive.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is seeking applications proposing research that will address how measurable attributes of water quality improvements can be valued, either directly or through indicators. Research under this Request for Applications (RFA) is intended to focus on national level studies and/or valuation for underrepresented water body types and regions, improvements to water quality indices, and environmental justice valuation. There will be an informational webinar on 15 December 2021 at 2:30-3:30 PM (Eastern). The webinar will cover application information and provide an overview of what has already been provided in the RFA. For information on eligibility and how to apply, visit: Water Quality Benefits Request for Applications (RFA)

The Five Star and Urban Waters Restoration grant program seeks to develop community capacity to sustain local natural resources for future generations by providing financial assistance to diverse local partnerships focused on improving water quality, watersheds and the species and habitats they support. Projects include a variety of ecological improvements along with targeted community outreach, education and stewardship. Projects should increase access to the benefits of nature, reduce the impact of environmental hazards and engage local communities, particularly underserved communities, in project planning, outreach and implementation. It is expected that more than half of projects awarded will support underserved communities.

The Environmental Justice virtual workshop series was created to forge collaborative relationships to benefit communities and promote sustainable growth. This series will build capacity for individuals and organizations working in underserved and disadvantaged communities to address their environmental and public health concerns and provide improved community-to- community networking and other communications between all stakeholders. There are five recorded sessions with topics ranging from community digital mapping tools to water quality.

The EPA has announced that its Draft Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-2026 EPA Strategic Plan has been published in the Federal Register and is available for public comment through 12 November 2021. The Strategic Plan communicates and provides a roadmap to achieve EPA's and the Biden-Harris Administration's priorities over the next four years. For the first time, EPA's Strategic Plan includes a strategic goal focused solely on addressing climate change and a strategic goal to advance environmental justice and civil rights. A cross-agency strategy on strengthening partnerships discusses our planned activities for early, meaningful involvement with Tribes and states and on-the-ground engagement with communities. The Draft Plan also includes a suite of measures that will help EPA monitor progress and hold the Agency accountable for achieving its priorities to protect human health and the environment.

This Strategic Plan furthers the agency's commitment to protecting human health and the environment for all people, with an emphasis on historically overburdened and underserved communities. EPA's final Plan includes a strategic goal focused exclusively on addressing climate change, as well as an unprecedented strategic goal to advance environmental justice and civil rights. The Strategic Plan outlines seven goals and four cross-agency strategies. The strategies articulate essential ways of working to accomplish EPA's goals and mission outcomes. The Plan also includes a suite of measures that will help the Agency monitor progress and ensure accountability for achieving its priorities to protect human health and the environment for all Americans.

EPA invites Environmental Justice (EJ) advocates and the public to participate in the agency's National Environmental Justice Community Engagement Calls, now happening biweekly, to discuss and receive feedback on all aspects of EJ at EPA with partners and communities. By increasing the community engagement calls from quarterly to biweekly, EPA will further encourage an open dialogue with EJ leaders and advocates. These meetings not only serve as an opportunity to give an update on EPA's EJ work and its resources, but also to listen and learn from communities, partners, and stakeholders. The next national EJ community engagement call is 28 September, 2021.

EPA is launching a new training initiative, Enhancing Lead-Safe Work Practices through Education and Outreach (ELSWPEO), to raise awareness about childhood lead exposure and protect environmentally overburdened and underserved communities across the United States from lead exposure. Many homes, apartments and child-care facilities built before 1978 contain lead-based paint. When disturbed, lead-based paint can release toxic lead dust and cause lead exposure, which is particularly harmful to children. While lead is dangerous to all children, lead exposure disproportionately impacts low-income families and their communities, making the free trainings offered by ELSWPEO an important step toward achieving environmental justice. ELSWPEO aims to serve local communities and advance environmental justice by increasing both the number of renovation, repair and painting (RRP) certified firms and consumer demand for lead-safe work practices.

EPA report that shows the most severe harms from climate change fall disproportionately upon underserved communities who are least able to prepare for, and recover from, heat waves, poor air quality, flooding, and other impacts. EPA's analysis indicates that racial and ethnic minority communities are particularly vulnerable to the greatest impacts of climate change. This report is one of the most advanced environmental justice studies to date that looks at how projected climate change impacts may be distributed across the American public.

EPA added 36 chemicals to the Safer Chemical Ingredients List (SCIL). The SCIL is a living list of chemicals, by functional-use class, that EPA's Safer Choice program has evaluated and determined meet Safer Choice criteria. Chemicals on the SCIL are among the safest for their functional use. The addition of chemicals to the SCIL enables further innovation in safer chemistry, which can promote environmental justice, bolster resilience to the impacts of climate change, and improve water quality. EPA is committed to updating the SCIL with safer chemicals on a regular basis. This SCIL is a critical resource that can be used by many different stakeholders: product manufacturers use the SCIL to help them make high-functioning products that contain safer ingredients; chemical manufacturers use this list to promote the safer chemicals they manufacture; retailers use the list to help shape their sustainability programs; and environmental and health advocates use the list to support their work with industry to encourage the use of the safest possible chemistry.

On Thursday, July 29, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hosting a webinar to demonstrate the "Power Plants and Neighboring Communities" web resource. This webpage includes interactive maps and supporting materials that combine information on air pollution emitted by fossil fuel-fired power plants with key demographical data on nearby communities. The Power Plants and Neighboring Communities web resource advances the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to environmental justice by empowering the public and policymakers with information and tools to better understand the disproportionate impacts of air pollution in overburdened communities. EPA officials and Office of Air and Radiation staff will announce this new web resource and provide a detailed visual briefing via webinar.

Home for the U.S. Departement of Health and Human Services' EJ strategic plans and implementation progress reports.

Home for the U.S. Department of Justice's EJ strategy, guidance and implementation progress reports.

FedCenter has added 2 new program areas to its lineup of environmental topics. The newly released Environmental Justice program area includes information on federal efforts to integrate environmental justice into all policies, programs, and activities. PFAS Resources consolidates information on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for federal agencies. This page includes information from federal, state, local and tribal governments, and non-governmental and private organizations, regarding health effects on people, regulatory actions being taken, scientific research being conducted, and its effects on the environment.

EPA it will provide $50 million dollars for Environmental Justice (EJ) initiatives through funds allocated to EPA under the American Rescue Plan (ARP). In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress designated this funding for grants, contracts, and other agency activities that identify and address disproportionate environmental or public health harms and risks in underserved communities through a range of local initiatives. Moving forward, EPA will also work to award an additional $50 million provided under the ARP for enhanced air quality monitoring, including plans to use a portion of these funds to solicit proposals from community groups, state, local and tribal air agencies to conduct monitoring of pollutants of greatest concern in communities with health outcome disparities.

EPA Asst. Administrator memorandum, dated 30 April 2021, to the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Office Directors and Deputies, Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Directors and Deputies, and Regional Counsels and Deputies, outlining steps for advancement of environmental justice goals.

EPA Asst. Administrator memorandum, dated 26 Apr 2021, to the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Office Directors and Deputies, Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Directors and Deputies, and Regional Counsels and Deputies. This memorandum charges enforcement staff and case teams to appropriately use the full array of policy and legal tools available to ensure that our country's environmental laws – and the policies to implement them – deliver benefits to all individuals and communities.

The EPA announced the availability of Multipurpose Grant (MPG) funding to support states, Tribes and territories in addressing high-priority environmental issues, including PFAS, environmental justice and climate change. The multipurpose grants are intended to be used at state and Tribal discretion to complement those programs funded under established environmental laws and regulations. Recognizing that environmental challenges vary from region to region, the funding supports a wide range of initiatives. These may include: addressing contaminants such as PFAS and lead, advancing environmental justice, tackling climate change, improving air and water quality monitoring, testing for radon in schools, and conducting outreach and education activities.

EPA invites Environmental Justice (EJ) advocates to participate in the second National Environmental Justice Community Engagement Call taking place on 19 May 2021 from 2:00 – 4:00 PM (Eastern). These calls are free and open to the public. The purpose of these calls is to inform the community and other stakeholders about EPA's EJ work and enhance opportunities to maintain an open dialogue with EJ advocates. The calls first began in 2010 and were a valuable tool for EPA to learn about EJ needs in communities around the country. The first re-launched call was held on 17 February 2021 and had nearly 700 participants.

WASHINGTON (April 23, 2021) -- Today, in conjunction with President Biden's Leaders Summit on Climate, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan announced three significant initiatives to support community-driven solutions in North America and in many countries around the world. Through cooperation and partnership, the United States can catalyze meaningful international climate action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution while also unleashing economic opportunities, creating good jobs, and advancing environmental justice. Read more about the 3 initiatives...

The Urban Waters Program works with urban and metropolitan areas, particularly those that are under-served and economically distressed, connect with their watersheds and work to improve them. Environmental justice remains a central principal of the program by ensuring community-based organizations and non-profits working in underserved and under-resourced communities are connected to our federal partnership locations and online resources. EPA Urban Waters is pleased to share the latest Progress Report from the Urban Waters Federal Partnership. The progress report summarizes the accomplishments and significant milestones of the Urban Waters Federal Partnership (UWFP) which carries out this critical work through location Ambassadors, local coordinators. Ambassadors facilitate on-the-ground collaboration working to improve water quality, revitalize local communities and provide education and outreach.

As part of the comprehensive review of the federal oil and gas program called for in Executive Order 14008, the Interior Department will host a virtual forum on 25 March 2021. The day-long forum will feature several panels to highlight perspectives from industry representatives, labor and environmental justice organizations, natural resource advocates, and other experts. The information gathered at the forum, which will be livestreamed, will help inform an interim report from the Department that will be completed in early summer. The report will include initial findings on the state of the federal conventional energy programs, as well as outline next steps and recommendations for the Department and Congress to improve stewardship of public lands and waters, create jobs, and build a just and equitable energy future.

EPA has announced the availability of up to $6 million in grant funding under The Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS) Cooperative Agreement Program and The Environmental Justice Small Grants (EJSG) Program. EPA will be giving special consideration to the following focus areas: • Addressing COVID-19 concerns faced by low-income communities and communities of color • Climate Change and Natural Disaster Resiliency outreach and planning • New applicants to either opportunity • Ports Initiative to assist people living and working near ports across the country • Small non-profits For more information on environmental justice grants, funding, and technical assistance.

EPA released an update of EJSCREEN, the Agency's publicly available award-winning environmental justice screening and mapping tool. EJSCREEN uses high resolution maps and a methodology for combining datasets to identify environmental burdens on vulnerable populations. This update is an important refresh of the environmental and demographic data contained in EJSCREEN and enhances the tool by adding new and improved functionality. An exciting new feature of the update is the addition of climate change indicators. Users can now add flood and sea level rise data for the first time. EPA will continue to expand the climate change indicators in upcoming updates. EPA's Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) data is also now an available map layer. To better support states and other technical users of EJSCREEN data, EPA has built an improved data dictionary and created downloadable data at the census tract level. Additional enhancements include improved source data on locations (ex: Superfund sites) and the ability to bring in shape files. This will allow users to use the data in various ways to meet their needs.

EPA released its Fiscal Year 2020 Environmental Justice Progress Report highlighting the agency's progress in advancing environmental justice for minority, low-income, tribal, and indigenous communities across the country. The FY 2020 Report describes how the Agency is working to promote a cleaner, healthier environment, more effective partnerships, and greater certainty, compliance and effectiveness to meet the needs of vulnerable communities to address disproportionate environmental impacts, health disparities and economic distress.