BOSTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is making grant money available for projects that will help reduce environmental risks for New England communities at risk, such as environmental justice areas, urban areas, sensitive populations and/or those impacted by climate change or stormwater run-off, according to a press release.
The Healthy Communities Grant Program is EPA New England’s main competitive grant program to work directly with communities to reduce environmental risks, protect and improve human health and improve the quality of life, noted the release.
The program is currently accepting initial proposals for projects that will benefit one or more New England communities, reported the release, and depending on total available funding, EPA will award approximately 10 cooperative agreements of up to a maximum $25,000 each.
Eligible applicants, continued the release, include state and local governments, public nonprofit institutions/organizations, private nonprofit institutions/organizations, quasi-public nonprofit institutions/organizations, federally-recognized Indian Tribal Governments and K-12 schools or school districts (e.g. grassroots and/or community-based organizations).
According to the release, the Healthy Communities Grant Program will achieve this through identifying and funding projects that: Target resources to benefit communities at risk from climate change impacts, areas impacted by stormwater run-off, environmental justice areas of potential concern, urban areas and sensitive populations (e.g. children, elderly, tribes, and others at increased risk); assess, understand and reduce environmental and human health risks; increase collaboration through community-based projects; build institutional and community capacity to understand and solve environmental and human health problems; advance emergency preparedness and resilience; and/or achieve measurable environmental and human health benefits.
Read the full release here.
