EPA Grant Funds Will Help New England Communities Target & Reduce Environmental Risks

BOSTON — US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grants of up to $30,000 are available to eligible organizations for projects in New England states through the EPA’s Healthy Communities Grant Program.

EPA expects to award between 20 to 25 grants, ranging from $5,000 to $30,000 each, for one- or two-year projects through this competitive program, based on availability of funding. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations, local government, public and private universities and colleges, hospitals, state or regional agencies, K-12 schools or school districts, and tribes. The deadline for one-page project proposals is April 5.

The Healthy Communities Grant Program integrates nine EPA New England programs to improve environmental conditions by competitively identifying projects that will achieve measurable environmental, human health, and quality of life improvements in communities across New England.

Program areas include Assistance & Pollution Prevention for both schools and health care sectors, Asthma, Children’s Environmental Health, Community Air Toxics, Pesticides, Smart Growth, Tools for Schools, Toxics, and the Urban Environmental Program.

The grant program will achieve this through identifying and funding projects that target resources to benefit communities at risk (environmental justice areas of potential concern, places with high risk from toxic air pollution, urban areas) and sensitive populations (e.g., children, elderly, others at increased risk).

Further, EPA will evaluate grant proposals to ensure that they assess, understand. and reduce environmental and human health risks; increase collaboration through community-based projects; build institutional and community capacity to understand and solve environmental and human health problems; and achieve measurable environmental and human health benefits.

To quality, projects must meet two criteria. The must be located in and directly benefit one or more of the four target investment areas; and they must achieve measurable environmental and public health results in one or more of the seven target program areas.

Target investment areas include environmental justice areas of potential concern, places with high risks from toxic air pollution, sensitive populations and/or urban areas (populations of 35,000 or more). Target program areas include asthma, capacity-building on environmental and public health issues; healthy indoor/outdoor environments, healthy schools, urban natural resources and open/green space, smart growth, and water quality monitoring or analyses.

To help answer questions from prospective applicants, the Healthy Communities Grant Program will sponsor six telephone conference calls before the one-page project summary is due on April 5. The informational sessions for the one-page summary outlines will be held on March 8, 15. and 22. The informational sessions are optional, but RSVPs are required.

For more information, visit www.epa.gov/ne/eco/uep/grants­_2006hc.html or call 617-918-1017.