Biden-Harris Administration Selects Blacks in Green to Serve as New Technical Assistance Center to Help Communities Across Region 5 Access Historic Investments and Advance Environmental Justice
Publilshed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that Blacks in Green has been selected to serve as an Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center (EJ TCTAC). Blacks in Green will receive at least $10 million to help communities across Region 5 access funds from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. This includes historic investments to advance environmental justice.
From day one of his administration, President Biden made achieving environmental justice a top priority. Through the Investing in America agenda, the Biden-Harris Administration will continue to support and strengthen communities that for too long were left out and left behind. Administrator Regan announced the technical assistance centers on the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America tour.
“We know that so many communities across the nation have the solutions to the environmental challenges they face. Unfortunately, many have lacked access or faced barriers when it comes to the crucial federal resources needed to deliver these solutions,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Today we’re taking another step to break down these barriers. Establishing these Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers across the nation will ensure all communities can access benefits from the President’s historic agenda, which includes groundbreaking investments in clean air, clean water, and our clean energy future.”
“For far too long, overburdened, underserved, and rural communities have lacked the resources and technical assistance they need from the federal government to overcome barriers critical to their energy needs and create new, long-lasting economic opportunities,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, DOE now has historic levels of new funding to pull from to help revitalize disadvantaged communities across the nation and ensure they’re not left behind in our transition to a clean energy future.”
“Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act investments, we have an unprecedented opportunity to advance environmental justice and EPA’s Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers will be a critical component to this mission,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore. “EPA is proud to partner with Blacks in Green to bring these much-needed resources to communities throughout Region 5.”
“The goal is to flip the script of business as usual with the simple step that no movement for equity can ever thrive without Black, Brown and Indigenous people leading in all matters essential to thriving communities,” said Naomi Davis, founder and CEO of Blacks in Green and creator of the Sustainable Square Mile system. “This award advances the new terms of engagement between frontline organizations and our white allies by honoring our leadership as experts on the ground. This richly needed new normal will create a world that works for everyone, with no one and nothing left out.”
Blacks in Green is among 17 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (EJ TCTACs) the EPA announced to receive a total of more than $177 million to remove barriers and improve accessibility for communities with environmental justice concerns. With this critical investment, these centers will provide training and other assistance to build capacity for navigating federal grant application systems, writing strong grant proposals, and effectively managing grant funding. In addition, these centers will provide guidance on community engagement, meeting facilitation, and translation and interpretation services for limited English-speaking participants, thus removing barriers and improving accessibility for communities with environmental justice concerns. Each of the technical assistance centers will also create and manage communication channels to ensure all communities have direct access to resources and information.
“We know all too well that the climate crisis disproportionately affects frontline and low-income communities,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL). “With the help of this historic federal investment, Blacks in Green can now provide training and assistance to help these communities combat the environmental injustices they’ve faced for far too long.”
“I want to emphasize how simple this is: no one should have to drink brown water, breathe contaminated air or worry about pollution’s impact on their family’s health,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) said. “I’m proud that activists like Blacks in Green are receiving substantial federal support to continue their work of advocating for a cleaner future, especially for the Black, Brown and underserved Americans who unjustly bear the brunt of environmental concerns. As co-founder of the Senate’s first-ever Environmental Justice Caucus, I’ll keep pushing for environmental justice because all Americans deserve clean air, water and land regardless of their zip code, the size of their wallet or the color of their skin.”
“Illinois EPA is excited to have Blacks in Green as a Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center in Illinois,” said Illinois EPA Director John J. Kim. “Accessing federal and state funding can be a complicated process, and we believe this is an essential resource to help communities access available State Revolving Funds.”
EPA will deliver these resources in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy, whose funding allows the EJ TCTACs to provide support for identifying community opportunities for clean energy transition and financing options, including public-private partnerships supporting clean energy demonstration, deployment, workforce development and outreach opportunities that advance energy justice objectives.
The formation of the EJ technical assistance centers is in direct response to feedback from communities and environmental justice leaders who have long called for technical assistance and capacity building support for communities and their partners as they work to access critical federal resources. The 17 centers will provide comprehensive coverage for the entire United States through a network of over 160 partners including community-based organizations, additional academic institutions, and Environmental Finance Centers, so that more communities can access federal funding opportunities like those made available through President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
EPA has also selected three national EJ TCTACs that will provide additional assistance across the country, with particular capacity to assist Tribes, including:
- International City/County Management Association
- Institute for Sustainable Communities
- National Indian Health Board
Additional award information for each selectee will be announced in Summer 2023.
The EJ TCTAC program is part of the Federal Interagency Thriving Communities Network and delivers on the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative to ensure that 40% of the benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities. The new technical assistance centers will help ensure communities with environmental justice concerns can access President Biden’s historic investments in America to address generational disinvestment, legacy pollution, infrastructure challenges, and build a clean energy economy that will lower energy costs, strengthen our energy security, and meet our climate goals.
Today’s announcement builds on the $100 million announced earlier this year under the Environmental Justice Government to Government Program and the Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program, with applications due on April 14, 2023. EPA has also announced $550 million through the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program, with applications due May 31, 2023.
Learn more about the selectees, their partners, and the EJ TCTAC program.
Learn more about environmental justice at EPA.
Read the full article at: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-selects-blacks-green-serve-new-technical-assistance-center
