(AGENPARL) – ven 21 giugno 2024 Issued: Jun 21, 2024 (11:24am EDT)
If you wish to unsubscribe please do so
here: http://url6130.epa.mediaroom.com/ls/click?upn=u001.iqz6hAvLdUl-2FaSixKUG3iyFJBsxNAroAZOQ1BID8fKIiLAUfJX2sQlhu1tzKAOIu-2BU84uzAzSpWvmWyHnsNJDRYXWx5dlMz75Zp9ch-2BQlG6mQHPYjReZhS13hvd5qOopu0xA_-2B0Ok6Af7hyz7Kqg6CR74pYblAA1WjrUjKSJUAiv3NOub0DC4O7JPWGxIlQ7kBB-2FSF8bV40F5lXt1pIn-2Be8D56pOF0YEzHUk4y9xw58PjqxkIRjNv6qBP1FaNotRh-2FsrliIQm7dZ-2FvqHQTUrqjqTqot2LPsXaw7LCh4RbNgf4wwSv2gjZM4xk3e-2BMpw30Ihj0lu9MVR9SCk36Yy3BpPY2zKCB7P99QTxp9-2FKIiEp7BySL-2FVHYnhfGamorrPsGATFoANz5Cgq6PwSr9vT3nPRabw-3D-3D
EPA Announces $250,000 to Winners of the Small Communities – Big Challenges
Prize Competition
WASHINGTON – Today, June 21, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
announced $250,000 in cash prizes for the winners of the Small Communities —
Big Challenges  Prize Competition. The winners, representing local
governments across five states, had innovative and unique strategies for
engaging with their rural communities to identify environmental and public
health needs of importance to the community. This engagement addresses
longstanding needs because rural communities often do not receive as much
support as more populous, urban communities and they also experience, across
all ethnic and racial groups, a significantly higher poverty rate than urban
America.
“EPA recognizes that rural communities face unique environmental and public
health challenges,” said Chris Frey, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s
Office of Research and Development. “The local governmental winners of this
challenge are working with their communities to deliver exemplary
science-based approaches to address local environmental and public health
issues collaboratively.”
“Environmental justice at its core ensures that anyone, regardless of zip
code, has equitable access to resources,” said Theresa Segovia, Principal
Deputy Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and
External Civil Rights. “This competition helps deliver those resources to
rural communities and their local governments, while enhancing EPA’s
knowledge of the barriers they face. Our sincere congratulations to the
winners.”
EPA awarded eight prizes: $35,000 for the top four winning teams and $27,500
for the four other winning teams for a total of $250,000 in cash prizes.
Additionally, one representative from each of the teams received a 1-year
National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) membership. Selected projects
identified local environmental challenges and engaged with their communities
to communicate about issues including water quality, indoor air quality, radon
levels, food waste, and recycling.
The “Small Communities, Big Challenges” competition is a partnership
between EPA, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the
Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the Association of State and
Territorial Health Officials, the National Association of County and City
Health Officials, and the National Environmental Health Association.
SCBC winners and the titles of their submissions are listed below:
Clay County Health Department, Clay County, W. Va., for Meeting the Clay
County Community Where They Are On Plastic Recycling
Dunn County Land & Water Conservation Division, Dunn County, Wis., for Dunn
County, Wisconsin—Groundwater Contamination Study
Florida Department of Health, Orange County, Fla., for Building on Bithlo’s
Transformation
Logan County Health District, Logan County, Ohio, for Covid-19 Indoor Air
Quality In Area School Districts
Marathon County Conservation Planning and Zoning Department, Marathon County,
Wis., for Using the “Marathon Method” to Tackle Elevated Nitrates in
Municipal Drinking Water Supplies
Oconto County Public Health, Oconto County, Wis., for Radon Testing in the
North Woods—What is That? I Could Have That?
Whatcom County Health and Community Services, Whatcom, Wash., for Reducing
Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Foothills Region Through Creative Food
Recovery “Freedges”
Whitman County Public Health, Whitman County, Wash., for 2023 Lower Snake
River HAB Response
Read the winning Small Communities, Big Challenges submissions.
To unsubscribe or change your settings click here:
http://url6130.epa.mediaroom.com/ls/click?upn=u001.iqz6hAvLdUl-2FaSixKUG3iyFJBsxNAroAZOQ1BID8fKKhIILjisBDEktm3-2BIos9X6NOQfjHqxEgG-2F76mcCcqaEe4QtUOUbghMdWmzSxVcPZmNgg445tyer38c4aBRAOkjbKaqBm8JOQ9Xl1T4vtNM7A-3D-3Dtpmn_-2B0Ok6Af7hyz7Kqg6CR74pYblAA1WjrUjKSJUAiv3NOub0DC4O7JPWGxIlQ7kBB-2FSF8bV40F5lXt1pIn-2Be8D56pOF0YEzHUk4y9xw58PjqxkoudHBgfNDwFOC2j3UWqgVM01BO0bYVMLoC37H1LMXsQeKuXIsNBK-2FIOO5aZdq3qTLPHgaUay97jmXX2oCte6F-2FBeIrAT3xYAJ9Fw5GOMmfbtiRdBUKSckUUW3pxafNEvWR-2BO2-2BXdB3hngHKJdrTOdQRVR8PkfonufEu259GNkHQ-3D-3D