(AGENPARL) – ven 25 ottobre 2024 EPA Announces $500,000 Air Monitoring Grant Project for El Paso-Based Group La Mujer Obrera
DALLAS, TEXAS (October 25, 2024) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded a $500,000 air monitoring grant to La Mujer Obrera, a community group based in El Paso, Texas, to analyze transportation emissions and other local pollution sources. This funding comes from the Biden-Harris Administration’s American Rescue Plan (ARP), which granted select cooperative agreements to conduct ambient air monitoring in communities with environmental and health outcome disparities stemming from pollution and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“For over 40 years, La Mujer Obrera has fought for the health and well-being of their neighbors in the Chamizal community of El Paso,” said Regional Administrator Dr. Earthea Nance. “With this funding, La Mujer Obrera can address air quality concerns head-on and provide real-time data to residents. I would like to thank La Mujer Obrera for their decades of environmental stewardship and advocacy for their community.”
“Historic amounts of federal funding have given El Paso the opportunity to innovate, improve, and invest in infrastructure that prioritizes public health and reduces pollution,” said Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16). “I am grateful to the EPA for another important investment that moves us closer to our goal of true environmental justice, and to La Mujer Obrera for their critical work to advocate for the health of vulnerable communities.”
“This is a step forward in addressing the environmental justice problems that have created a public health crisis in the Chamizal. We have the right to a safe community for our children, elders, and future generations. Working in collaboration with residents, we are planning what that looks like,” said Executive Director of La Mujer Obrera Lorena Andrade.
La Mujer Obrera was founded in 1981 and has campaigned for the protection of basic human rights such as employment, housing, education, nutrition, health, and political liberty. With this funding, La Mujer Obrera plans to deploy air monitors in the Chamizal community to create a mitigation plan armed with data to protect the health of the residents in the neighborhood. Air quality data will provide a baseline analysis across transportation emissions, environmental justice concerns, known pollution sources, and localized environmental justice screening. Working collectively with Chamizal residents, La Mujer Obrera will prepare and design the Chamizal Action Plan. The plan includes a block-by-block localized air quality assessment and data report(s) that will map sources of contamination contributing to ozone emissions, particulate matter, and fugitive dust. Additionally, this plan will educate residents on hazardous air pollutants that are specific to certain communities.
This funding is designed to be a multi-year plan with the project ending in 2027. By 2027, La Mujer Obrera will incorporate mitigation plans and green infrastructure principles into the planning for future neighborhood improvements and developments for the neighborhood. Lastly, La Mujer Obrera expects residents to experience an improvement in public health and air quality with the support of local, state, and federal government to  reduce emission sources as recommended by the Chamizal Action Plan.
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Environmental Protection Agency, 1201 Elm Street, Suite 500, Dallas, TX 75270 United States