(AGENPARL) - Roma, 12 Ottobre 2023 - (AGENPARL) – gio 12 ottobre 2023 Issued: Oct 12, 2023 (2:32pm EDT)
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Rutgers University to Receive Almost $800K to Help Small Businesses Across NJ
Reduce Hazardous Waste
Pollution Prevention Grant Will Advance Environmental Justice
NEW YORK (Oct. 12, 2023) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has
chosen Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey to receive nearly $800,000
in funding under EPA’s Environmental Justice in Communities program to
assist NJ small businesses in cutting the hazardous waste that they generate.
The Rutgers project, led by the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and
Public Policy and the New Jersey Climate Change Resource Center, is a
partnership with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
(NJDEP). The funding, which was made possible by President Biden’s
Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is to develop and adopt practices that prevent
pollution at the source in local communities. Rutgers is one of 24 recipients
across the country that were selected to collectively receive nearly $16
million in pollution prevention grants. 
“There are often relatively simple and low-cost steps businesses can take to
reduce the hazardous materials that they use and generate and at the same time
help their financial bottom line,” said Lisa F. Garcia, EPA Regional
Administrator. “But small businesses may not know where to start or how to
identify those steps. This federal funding, available through the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law, will support Rutgers program to provide the technical
assistance needed to these businesses.” 
EPA has selected Rutgers University to receive $787,527 to provide technical
assistance to small businesses that lack information and resources to reduce
the hazardous substances that they generate. Technical assistance will include
establishing a working group that will provide on-site assistance led by the
NJDEP and includes an important community assistance component that will be
led by community-based collaboratives that will receive financial support from
Rutgers. Working with the state and communities, Rutgers’ project will focus
on reducing facilities’ use, generation, and release of hazardous substances
in communities traditionally overburdened by pollution. These communities will
be identified using EPA’s EJ SCREEN and Rutgers’ NJADAPT suite of data
tools. 
“This initiative contributes to New Jersey’s efforts to advance
community-led solutions to minimize hazards that are exacerbated by changing
climate conditions,” said Jeanne Herb, Executive Director of the Bloustein
School Environmental Analysis & Communications Group and Co-Director of the
New Jersey Climate Change Resource Center at Rutgers University.  “Reducing
exposures to hazardous materials that may be used, generated or transported in
flood-prone areas, especially in environmental justice communities, is a
win-win for communities and businesses both.”  
“Bringing environmental equity to and improving the health of people who
live and work in our overburdened communities is of the highest priority to
the Murphy Administration,” said New Jersey Environmental Protection
Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette. “My DEP colleagues and I wish to express
our gratitude to Administrator Garcia and the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency for providing this funding to Rutgers University to help small
businesses reduce or eliminate the hazardous substances they use. The
Department of Environmental Protection looks forward to working closely with
Rutgers and community organizations to provide the technical assistance that
will make these goals a reality.” 
“This federal investment in New Jersey will empower small businesses to
improve health and the environment across our state,” said U.S. Senator Cory
Booker. “I’m proud to see Rutgers University receive this funding so that
it can provide small businesses with the technical assistance to reduce the
harmful impact of hazardous substances in disadvantaged communities.” 
“Today, more transformational funding to prevent toxic pollution is on its
way to New Jersey from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” said U.S.
Representative Frank Pallone (NJ-06). “The Pollution Prevention Grants to
Advance Environmental Justice Program breaks down barriers to resources and
access to information so facilities can more easily reduce hazardous
substances that harm public health. I congratulate Rutgers University for
receiving a grant to carry out this important work for New Jerseyans and thank
President Biden for his partnership in prioritizing environmental justice.
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 Pollution Prevention Grant Program advances President Biden’s
Justice40 Initiative, which aims to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits
of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are
marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. 
Ensuring greater availability and use of safer and more sustainable products
can reduce harmful chemical exposures and their human health and the
environmental impacts in disadvantaged communities and create a more
sustainable and accessible marketplace. These efforts will continue to benefit
businesses and communities across the nation by capturing what works and what
can be adjusted in other communities. Recipients will share successful
practices that are new or not widely known, as well as lessons learned, so
that future businesses and communities can continue to innovate. 
EPA anticipates awarding the grants once all legal and administrative
requirements are satisfied. 
Background:
The United States generates millions of tons of pollution each year and spends
billions of dollars per year controlling this pollution. Once in our
environment, this pollution harms human and environmental health, which
disproportionally impacts underserved communities. Preventing pollution at the
source, also known as P2 or source reduction, rather than managing waste after
it is produced, is an important part of the solution landscape, and advances a
sustainable infrastructure that supports local economies while better
protecting public health and the environment. P2 practices can reduce exposure
to toxic chemicals, conserve natural resources, and reduce cleanup and
financial costs for businesses, particularly for waste management and
environmental liability. Practicing P2 is essential for protecting public
health and improving environmental conditions in and around disadvantaged
communities that have long been overburdened by pollution. 
Between 2011-2021, EPA’s Pollution Prevention program has issued nearly 500
grants totaling more than $50 million, which have helped businesses identify,
develop and adopt P2 approaches. These approaches have resulted in eliminating
19.8 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, saving 49 billion gallons of
water, reducing 917 million pounds of hazardous materials and pollutants, and
saving more than $2.2 billion for business. 
President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is boosting these efforts by
providing a historic $100 million to support the program’s continued
efforts. Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, state and Tribal
programs that are awarded grants will not be required to provide matching
funds, which has helped expand access to these resources and broadened the
applicant pool. 
For more information about EPA’s Pollution Prevention Grant: Environmental
Justice Program, visit EPA’s P2 website. 
For more information about EPA’s tools for identifying communities that face
disproportionate burdens, visit EPA’s EJ Screen page. 
Follow EPA Region 2 on?Twitter?and visit our?Facebook?page. For more
information about EPA Region 2, visit our?website. 
23-098
For further information: Contact: Kenneth Labbe, 202-564-1486,
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