(AGENPARL) – mar 26 marzo 2024 Issued: Mar 26, 2024 (12:00pm EDT)
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Biden-Harris Administration Announces More Than $35 million to Selectees to
Fund Environmental Justice Projects Across the Great Lakes
New EPA Great Lakes Environmental Justice Grant program is made possible by
President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda
WASHINGTON – Today, March 26, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) announced the selection of four applicants to receive more than $35
million to fund projects that advance environmental justice in underserved and
overburdened communities across the Great Lakes. Through EPA’s newly created
Great Lakes Environmental Justice Grant Program, made possible by President
Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, each selectee will develop and oversee
their own subgrant competition that will fund environmental protection and
restoration projects that safeguard our nation’s largest fresh surface water
resources and benefit underserved and overburdened communities throughout the
Great Lakes Basin.
“Thanks to President Biden’s historic investments in America, we are
taking another critical step to protect our treasured Great Lakes and advance
environmental justice,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan.
“Together, with the partners we’re announcing today, we will continue our
work to remove barriers for communities that have been left behind while
preserving the rich cultural, economic, and environmental role of the Great
Lakes in communities across the Great Lakes Basin.”
The Great Lakes Environmental Justice Grant Program is part of the Great Lakes
Restoration Initiative (GLRI), the largest investment in the Great Lakes in
two decades, which received $1 billion in funding through the Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law. The following organizations have been selected to receive
funding through today’s announcement.
Restore America’s Estuaries was selected to receive $19,999,976 to develop
and implement a Great Lakes Environmental Justice Grant Program that, with the
support of Great Lakes partners, will serve the entire Great Lakes Basin.
Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper, Inc. was selected to receive $5,633,581 to
develop and implement the Western New York Environmental Justice Grant Program
for underserved communities in Lake Erie and Niagara River’s watershed.
Ohio Lake Erie Commission was selected to receive $5,805,006 to develop and
implement the Lake Erie Environmental Justice Grant Program for underserved
communities in Ohio’s Lake Erie watershed.
Southeast Michigan Council of Governments was selected to receive $4,200,000
to develop and implement the Advancing Environmental Quality of Life in
Underserved Communities grant program for underserved communities in Southeast
Michigan.
“There’s no exaggerating the importance of protecting and restoring the
Great Lakes. They provide our drinking water, fuel our economy, offer us
spaces for recreation, and harbor vital resources for many Tribes,” said EPA
Region 5 Administrator and Great Lakes National Program Manager Debra Shore.
“Thanks to additional funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA
and our partners are making more progress than ever before and with today’s
announcement we are ensuring that some of our most vulnerable Great Lakes
communities will benefit from these historic investments.”
“Our Great Lakes make up 20% of the fresh water on Earth. It’s why I have
long fought for under resourced communities across our Great Lakes Region,
especially in the Western Basin of Lake Erie, to receive the adequate
resources they deserve to preserve our most precious resources. And, it’s
why I delivered funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the
creation and funding of the Great Lakes Authority,” said Congresswoman Marcy
Kaptur (OH-09), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on
Energy and Water Development. “I am thrilled to see more than $5.8 million
in funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law come back to Ohio as part of
the EPA’s Great Lakes Environmental Justice Grant Program to help
underserved communities in the Lake Erie Watershed. This new initiative will
ease administrative barriers and help underserved communities in our region
more effectively access federal funding for important local projects.”
“The climate crisis is having a real impact on our everyday lives, and we
know that historically underserved communities are disproportionately hurt,”
said Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06). “As a co-chair of the Great Lakes
Task force, I have seen just how critically important The Great Lakes
Restoration Initiative is to protecting our greatest natural treasures and the
communities that depend on them. These grant programs will prioritize those
who have been overlooked for too long, and I will continue to work in Congress
and with the Biden Administration to ensure we’re focused on environmental
justice as we make historic investments in combating the climate crisis.”
“Restore America’s Estuaries is looking forward to working with the Great
Lakes National Program Office on the Great Lakes Environmental Justice Grant
Program,” said Daniel Hayden, President and CEO of Restore America’s
Estuaries (RAE). “RAE is excited to create a grant program and training
programs for the Great Lakes Region and to partner with organizations
committed to protecting our waterways. These funds will be utilized in the
region’s underserved communities with the aim of ensuring cleaner waterways
suitable for both recreational and commercial purposes.”
“Investment in Southeast Michigan’s green infrastructure network is
critical for the health and well-being of our region, and this is especially
true for communities which have been historically underserved,” said Amy
O’Leary, Executive Director of SEMCOG, the Southeast Michigan Council of
Governments. “SEMCOG is thrilled to receive this funding from the Great
Lakes National Program Office and looks forward to working with environmental
justice communities on managing stormwater runoff and improving water
quality.”
“The Ohio Lake Erie Commission is very excited to partner with the Black
Environmental Leaders and Rural Action to bring more Great Lakes restoration
projects to historically overburdened and underserved communities in Ohio’s
Lake Erie watershed,” said Ohio Lake Erie Commission Executive Director, Joy
Mulinex. “This work will enhance Ohio’s efforts to protect and restore
Lake Erie in communities that have not had the capacity to undertake this
work.”
“Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper has spent decades mobilizing our community and
advocating for our local environment in order to correct mistakes and clean up
after generations of poor decisions,” said Jill Jedlicka, Executive
Director. “Western New York is home to numerous underserved communities who
are faced with a disproportionate burden of environmental stressors and
injustices, and it is the primary goal of this project to empower local
communities and increase their capacity to implement solutions. With USEPA’s
support, Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper’s leadership team and our partners will
have the combined skills, shared vision, and community relationships to help
break down barriers, address these ongoing challenges, and bring an innovative
watershed funding partnership model to the lower Great Lakes. We are grateful
for the trust and investment by USEPA-GLNPO that will allow us to dedicate
federal dollars towards local projects in the communities that need it the
most, while simultaneously creating a model for sustainable funding and
collaboration into the future.”
Many communities in the Great Lakes Basin lack the resources needed to apply
for, obtain, and oversee the implementation of federal grant projects. These
new grant programs will ease these administrative barriers and help
underserved communities more effectively access federal funding for important
local projects. EPA anticipates finalizing all the awards once all legal and
administrative requirements are satisfied. Funding opportunities are expected
to be made available to communities within the first year of selectees
receiving the funds announced today.
Cities, states, Tribes and nonprofit organizations representing underserved
communities will be able to apply directly to the selected Grant programs to
fund a range of environmental protection and restoration projects in
underserved communities that will further the goals of the GLRI. These
programs will also provide technical assistance to organizations in
underserved communities to increase their organizational capacity. This
investment will also encourage even greater environmental, economic, health,
and recreational benefits for underserved Great Lakes communities.
EPA’s Great Lakes Environmental Justice Grant Program was created under
President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which invests $1 billion in
the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) to accelerate Great Lakes
restoration and protection. The program also delivers on the Biden-Harris
Administration’s Justice40 Initiative which set the goal that 40% of the
overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged
communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by
pollution.
Additional Background
Since 2010, EPA’s Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) has funded more
than 7,500 restoration and protection projects totaling more than $3.7
billion. Read more about the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
Sign up for the Great Lakes News email list to get information about funding
opportunities to support Great Lakes environmental work and get updates about
Great Lakes environmental projects. 
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