U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7 - 11201 Renner Blvd., Lenexa, KS 66219
Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations
Biden-Harris Administration Selects RTI International to Receive $100M to Fund Environmental Justice Projects Across U.S., to Include Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, as Part of Investing in America Agenda
Grantmaker selected to reduce barriers to federal funds and issue thousands of environmental justice grants over the next three years
Contact Information: Jonathan Klusmeyer, 913-343-2991, klusmeyer.jonathan@epa.gov
LENEXA, KAN. (DEC. 20, 2023) – Today, as part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, the Biden-Harris administration announced that the RTI International has been selected to serve as Environmental Justice Grantmaker, which will provide grant awards under EPA’s Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking program that was created by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the largest investment in climate action in history.
This new grant program, which will make it easier for small, community-based organizations to access federal environmental justice (EJ) funding, responds to community feedback about the need to reduce barriers to federal funds and improve the efficiency of the awards process to ensure that communities that have long faced underinvestment can access the benefits of the largest climate investment in history.
Communities will be able to apply to RTI International for a subgrant to fund a range of different environmental project activities, including (but not limited to) small local cleanups; local emergency preparedness and disaster resiliency programs; environmental workforce development programs for local jobs reducing greenhouse gas emissions; fenceline air quality and asthma-related projects; healthy homes programs; and projects addressing illegal dumping.
President Biden is delivering the most ambitious EJ agenda in our nation’s history. Vice President Kamala Harris and EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan were joined by Dr. Robert Bullard, distinguished professor of urban planning and environmental policy at Texas Southern University, to announce the historic Grantmaker awards.
“Community-based organizations understand the needs of the areas in which they live, work, and play, and are best suited to address the unique environmental and public health concerns of communities with environmental justice concerns,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister. “The Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking program will help our Heartland Region 7 communities get access to the funds they need to make local changes based on local needs.”
“One of the greatest barriers to accessing federal investments for underserved communities is a lack of technical expertise in researching and applying for federal grants that are available to a wide range of community organizations,” said U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver II (MO-5). “Thanks to this funding from the President’s Inflation Reduction Act, we can help more local nonprofits and community service organizations obtain federal investments dedicated to environmental justice projects. Not only will this strengthen public health and combat the impacts of climate change, but it will also help to revitalize communities by stimulating economic development and creating good-paying jobs. That’s what President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda is all about, and that’s why I was proud to support his Inflation Reduction Act.”
“We are thrilled to lend RTI’s wealth of expertise to this important program that will help ensure that local organizations across the U.S., regardless of circumstance, can be active participants in defining how to best advance environmental justice in their communities,” said Senior Director with the Transformative Research Unit for Equity (TRUE) and Director of the Thriving Communities Project at RTI International Daniela Pineda.
EPA Grantmakers will work in collaboration with EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights to issue subgrants to community-based, nonprofit organizations and other eligible organizations representing disadvantaged communities. As a Grantmaker, RTI International will design comprehensive application and submission processes, award EJ subgrants, implement tracking and reporting systems, and provide resources and support to communities. The subgrants are expected to become available by summer 2024.
EPA has selected RTI International as a National Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaker to provide additional support, coordination, and oversight to the subgrantees, applicants, and Regional Grantmakers across the central part of the country. As a National Grantmaker, RTI International and its partner team will emphasize local community outreach to accelerate grant awards to communities most in need. RTI International will ensure that funding enables projects that support the goals and strategies of EPA’s Strategic Plan and the broader Justice40 Initiative, such as clean, healthy air and clean, safe water for all communities, and safety of chemicals for people and the environment.
Grantmakers are expected to begin opening competitions and awarding subgrants by summer 2024. Community-based, nonprofit organizations and other eligible organizations seeking subgrant funding will be able to apply for subgrants through three concurrent tiers offered by the Grantmakers.
Tier One will consist of grants for $150,000 for assessment; Tier Two will consist of grants for $250,000 for planning; and Tier Three will consist of grants for $350,000 for project development. In addition, $75,000 will be available for capacity-constrained, community-based organizations through a non-competitive process under Tier One. Each Grantmaker will design and implement a distribution program best suited for their region and communities.
The Grantmakers program is part of the Federal Interagency Thriving Communities Network and 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. Grantmakers will work in collaboration with the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (EJ TCTACs) to create a robust support network to assist eligible entities when applying.
Learn more about the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmakers.
Background
From day one of their administration, President Biden and Vice President Harris have made achieving environmental justice a top priority. In August 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, creating the largest investment in environmental and climate justice in U.S. history. EPA received $3 billion in total to award grants and fund related technical assistance to benefit disadvantaged communities.
EPA has since launched and expanded innovative programs to provide more support than ever before to communities that unjustly bear the burdens of environmental harm and pollution. This includes the $177 million for the creation of 16 EJ TCTACs, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, to remove barriers to federal resources and help communities pursue funding opportunities like those made available through President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda.
EPA announced nearly $128 million to fund 186 projects across the country that advance EJ as part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda. The organizations, which EPA has selected through its Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement and Environmental Justice Government-to-Government programs, will use the funds to ensure that disadvantaged communities that have historically suffered from underinvestment have access to clean air and water and climate resilience solutions in alignment with the Biden-Harris administration’s Justice40 Initiative.
Last month, EPA also announced approximately $2 billion in funding available to support community-driven projects that deploy clean energy, strengthen climate resilience, and build capacity for communities to tackle environmental and climate justice challenges. The Community Change Grants are the single largest investment in environmental justice going directly to communities in history and will advance collaborative efforts to achieve a healthier, safer, and more prosperous future for all.
Learn more about environmental justice at EPA.
For up-to-date information on when subgrants will be available, subscribe to the EPA Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights’ listserv by sending a blank email to join-epa-ej@lists.epa.gov. Follow OEJECR on X (formerly Twitter) at @EPAEnvJustice.
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