EPA Opens $20 Million Grant Competition for Community Air Pollution Monitoring
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
announced the availability of $20 million in competitive grants through the
American Rescue Plan (ARP) to enhance ambient air quality monitoring in
communities across the United States, especially in underserved and
overburdened communities that often lack access to adequate air quality
information. EPA will award funds to support community and local efforts to
monitor air quality and to promote air quality monitoring partnerships between
communities and Tribal, state, and local governments. Community-based
nonprofit organizations, Tribes, states, and local governments may apply for
the grants.
“In my travel across the country, from Newark to Flint to
the deep south, community members have told me how important air quality
monitoring is to protecting their health. Through the American Rescue Plan,
Congress and the President entrusted EPA with critical funding to help those who
are hurting,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “This
funding will support communities that need better information about air quality
in their neighborhoods and reflects EPA’s commitment to deliver environmental
justice for our most vulnerable populations.”
The announcement follows Administrator Regan’s Journey to
Justice Tour through Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, where he met with
residents and advocates to hear firsthand how their communities have been
affected by air pollution and why improved air monitoring can help
residents.
Under the ARP, Congress provided EPA with a one-time
supplemental appropriation of $100 million to address health outcome
disparities from pollution and the COVID-19 pandemic. Of that $100 million, $50
million has been dedicated to environmental justice (EJ) initiatives that
identify and address disproportionate environmental or public health harms in
underserved communities, and $50 million is dedicated to address air monitoring
for the same issues.
Today’s announcement of the availability of $20 million for
community monitoring is part of that $50 million for monitoring. This is the
largest investment in community-based monitoring systems in EPA history. The
remaining $30 million will support state, Tribal or local air agencies for
enhanced monitoring of fine particles and five other air pollutants regulated
by the National Ambient Air Quality Standards under the Clean Air Act; cover
administrative costs; and invest in mobile monitoring labs or air sensor loan
programs to improve EPA's ability to support communities in need of short-term
monitoring and air quality information.
To be considered for funding under this Request for
Applications (RFA), grant applications must address ambient monitoring for at
least one of the following types of air pollution: criteria pollutants
(particle pollution, carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, or sulfur
dioxide) and their precursors or hazardous air pollutants, as defined by the
Clean Air Act.
The grants do not require matching funds from organizations
that apply. The grants will be focused on collecting information that addresses
air pollution problems identified by communities and effective
partnerships. This EPA grant competition to enhance ambient air monitoring
in communities with health outcome disparities from pollution and the COVID-19
pandemic exemplifies the Biden Administration’s Justice40 commitment to
charting a new and better course that puts environmental and economic justice
at the center of all we do.
Through this grants program, EPA anticipates awarding a
total of 50-70 grants or cooperative agreements. Approximately $2 million
of the total amount will be awarded to Tribal governments under a Tribal
government set-aside, and approximately $2 million will be awarded to eligible
community-based organizations under a community-based organization set-aside.
EPA may increase or decrease the total funding or set-aside amounts based on
the quality of applications received and agency priorities.
The application period closes February 25, 2022, and EPA
will be offering an informational webinar about the RFA on January 11, 2022
from 1:00PM-2:00PM eastern.
More information is available at https://www.epa.gov/grants/enhanced-air-quality-monitoring-communities OR https://www.epa.gov/arp/enhanced-air-quality-monitoring-funding-under-arp