ATLANTA, Ga. – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $34,403,346 in funding for two selected applications to help disadvantaged communities in Alabama and Tennessee tackle environmental and climate justice challenges through projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience and build community capacity. Made possible by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the Community Change Grants Program is the single largest investment in environmental and climate justice in history. The funding announcement today is the first tranche of nearly $2 billion from the program that was designed based on community input to award grants on a rolling basis.
“Our ability to deliver tangible results for communities depends on listening to them and developing innovative solutions through inclusive stakeholder engagement,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Today, thanks to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, EPA has selected the first cohort of community partnerships to solve emerging and longstanding environmental and climate justice challenges.”
“We are excited to announce these awards to the first two selectees in EPA’s Southeast Region,” said acting Regional Administrator Jeaneanne Gettle. “This first set of impactful community change grants will help hundreds of residents in Chattanooga and Alabama address significant quality of life issues that they have endured as environmental justice communities.”
This initial selection cohort includes over $14 million to Texas A&M University and the Black Belt Unincorporated Wastewater Program to install onsite wastewater treatment systems for 350 households that lack adequate wastewater management in Alabama’s Hale, Lowndes and Wilcox counties. This project also will develop a training, certification and post-secondary bridge program to produce in-demand wastewater-professionals for this rural area.
“After receiving notification of the Community Change Grant award, the Black Belt Unincorporated Wastewater Program (BBUWP) is ecstatic and even more focused on our work to solve the wastewater issues in the Black Belt counties of Alabama,” said Perman Hardy, president of the BBUWP. “The Biden-Harris administration has given us a safety net to continue our work of single-family onsite system installations, as part of a larger ongoing effort to incorporate decentralized wastewater systems—both clustered and onsite—and innovative management options to address wastewater challenges throughout the Black Belt. These efforts are facilitated by the Consortium of Alabama Rural Water and Wastewater Management (CARWW), which ties many partners together and facilitates communication and the sharing of ideas and expertise. Texas A&M University—under the leadership of Dr. Amal Bakchan—saw the tremendous opportunity provided by this grant and assembled key participants to implement this community change project.”
Additionally, nearly $20 million to Trust for Public Land and the City of Chattanooga to develop a 2.6-mile trail system in south Chattanooga, expand greenspace and tree canopy and improve stormwater and floodplain management using nature-based solutions. This project, first identified as a community priority in 2002, will help transform and reconnect three disadvantaged communities that have been isolated by railroads, highways, and other barriers. More than 3,800 individuals who live within a half-mile of the trail will benefit from this project.
“This is a historic investment in an area of Chattanooga that needs and deserves it, and we can’t thank EPA enough for this award,” said Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly. “This $19.5 million will help us and our valued partners at the Trust for Public Land extend the Alton Park Connector from the Riverwalk to Clifton Hills Elementary while investing in community organizations. The Alton Park Connector will add greenspace and tree canopy, giving Chattanoogans a beautiful new option for outdoor recreation. But just as importantly, it will reconnect an underserved community to the rest of Chattanooga and the new development in the South Broad area, forging a path to better jobs, amenities and services for the Chattanoogans who live in the area. This is One Chattanooga in action.”
“As a community-centered organization devoted to connecting everyone to the outdoors, EPA’s award is a transformational investment in a longstanding priority for South Chattanooga’s isolated neighborhoods to connect to the City’s renaissance of economic opportunity and public space investment,” said Noel Durant of the Tennessee State Director of Trust for Public Land.
“Chattanooga’s southside has struggled through decades of disinvestment and environmental contamination. This award shows how our voices and advocacy can change our community's story and our lives by connecting us to the rest of the city and a shared vision of possibilities,” said Maria Noel, a longtime community advocate for South Chattanooga.
The two selected applications in the Southeast are among 21 selected nationally under the Community Change Grants Program’s rolling application process. Informed by robust stakeholder engagement and community feedback, the innovative rolling application process will ensure that applicants have ample time to prepare and take advantage of this historic resource. The Community Change Grants Program Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), administered through EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, is still accepting applications through November 21, 2024. EPA will continue to review applications and announce selections on a rolling basis.
The Inflation Reduction Act provides $3 billion to EPA to award grants that help disadvantaged communities and offer technical assistance. With these grants, EPA is delivering on this mission.
The Community Change Grants also deliver on President Biden’s commitment to advance equity and justice throughout the United States through his Justice40 Initiative to ensure that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments go to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
See the full listing of the initial 21 organizations receiving a CCGP grant and learn more about CCGP here: https://www.epa.gov/inflation-reduction-act/community-change-grants-selections
The Community Change Grants Program is still accepting applications through November 21, 2024, so EPA encourages applicants to submit applications as soon as they completely meet the NOFO requirements. EPA will be making additional selections on a rolling basis for the remainder of 2024. EPA also encourages interested applicants to apply for technical assistance as soon as possible, as the last day to request new technical assistance is August 16, 2024.