The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Tuesday that it will give an estimated $100 million to nonprofits and local governments that advance “environmental justice” in local communities.
The Inflation Reduction Act, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden in August, allocated $100 million to back EPA grants that will go toward climate projects aimed at benefiting low-income and minority populations across the nation. The agency will give $70 million to finance partnerships between local governments and charities as well as $30 million to directly fund climate-focused nonprofits, according to a press release.
“Since day one, President Biden pledged to prioritize environmental justice and equity for all, and EPA is at the heart of delivering on that mission,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement.
Climate groups will be able to apply for grants that are intended to help such organizations address environmental and public health issues in local communities, according to the press release. Approximately $5 million of this money is reserved for small “community-based” nonprofit groups with five or fewer full-time employees.
The money that will be given to partnerships between nonprofits and local authorities is intended to support state projects that address pollution or other climate concerns in neighborhoods that are “disproportionately burdened by environmental harms and risks,” according to the press release. Such activities, which will begin in October 2023, are meant to use existing state assets and tools to integrate “environmental justice” ideals into local government programs.
The IRA also provides $3 billion for the EPA’s “environmental and climate justice block grants” to reduce pollution and replace old heating appliances in “disadvantaged communities,” according to a Democratic Party summary of the bill’s environmental justice provisions. As part of the March 2021 COVID-19 stimulus package, the EPA gave approximately $18.4 million in environmental justice grant funding to over 150 organizations in December 2021, according to the EPA press release.
The EPA did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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