The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this period announced the enactment of 29 Environmental Finance Centers (EFCs) that volition assistance communities crossed the state entree national backing for infrastructure and greenhouse state simplification projects that amended nationalist wellness and biology protection.
The EFCs volition present targeted method assistance to section governments, states, Tribes, and non-governmental organizations to support nationalist health, safeguard the environment, and beforehand biology justice. Thanks to President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the selected EFCs volition assistance underserved communities that person historically struggled to entree national backing person the enactment they request to entree resources for h2o infrastructure improvements.
“The Biden Administration is committed to ensuring that each radical person entree to cleanable aerial to breathe, harmless h2o to drink, and cleanable onshore to unrecorded on,” said EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe. “To execute this extremity and support nationalist health, we indispensable uplift and enactment underserved and overburdened communities crossed rural, suburban, and municipality areas. The caller Environmental Finance Centers EPA is announcing contiguous volition assistance link communities successful request with national backing opportunities, including historical h2o infrastructure investments done the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and investments successful greenhouse state and aerial contamination projects done the Inflation Reduction Act.”
EPA volition grant up to $150 cardinal successful grants to EFCs implicit the adjacent 5 years, erstwhile each ineligible and administrative requirements are satisfied. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $98 cardinal of the full concern done EPA’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), with the remainder of funds coming from EPA appropriations.
The recently selected EFCs volition enactment to fortify communities done projects focused connected drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, coagulated waste, cleanable air, greenhouse state reduction, and toxic substances—and a absorption of their enactment volition beryllium supporting overburdened and underserved communities. EPA volition beryllium engaging with the selected grantees to guarantee communities successful request person this captious method assistance
About the Environmental Finance Centers Grant Program
Many communities with important contamination challenges and infrastructure needs person not been capable to entree national backing and financing programs to code these concerns. EPA recognizes that existing biology gains cannot beryllium preserved, nor further advancement achieved, unless states, Tribes, and section governments, and non-governmental organizations person the resources to make and prolong biology projects.
Through the EFC assistance program, method assistance providers volition assistance communities make and taxable task proposals, including State Revolving Fund (SRF) applications for Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) backing and greenhouse state simplification projects done the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. EFCs volition enactment underserved communities with method assistance to place sustainable infrastructure solutions. These entities volition supply states, Tribes, and section governments oregon h2o systems with method assistance services to beforehand equitable wellness and biology protections.
The 2022 selected recipients for the Environmental Finance Center Grant Program are:
Category 1 – Regional Multi-Environmental Media EFCs:
- Low Impact Development Center Inc.
- Michigan Technological University
- National Rural Water Association
- Rural Community Assistance Corporation, West Sacramento
- Syracuse University
- University Enterprises, Inc. dba Sac State Sponsored
- University of Maine System
- University of Maryland
- University of New Mexico
- University of North Carolina astatine Chapel Hill
- Urban Sustainability Directors Network
- Wichita State University
Category 2 – Regional Water Infrastructure EFCs:
- Delta Institute
- Hawaii Community Foundation
- National Rural Water Association
- Rural Community Assistance Corporation, West Sacramento covering EPA Region 9
- Rural Community Assistance Corporation, West Sacramento covering EPA Region 10
- Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project, Inc.
- Syracuse University
- University of Maine System
- University of Maryland
- University of New Mexico
- University of North Carolina astatine Chapel Hill
- Wichita State University
- WSOS Community Action Commission, Inc.
Category 3 – National Water Infrastructure EFCs:
- Moonshot Missions
- Rural Community Assistance Partnership, Washington, DC
- Sand County Foundation
- U.S. Water Alliance
EPA announced the Request for Applications in April, and the play for submitting applications ended connected July 1, 2022.
Learn much astir the Environmental Finance Centers.
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