Benjamen, K. (2023, January 12). EPA announces $100M in environmental justice grants. The Washington Informer. Retrieved January 19, 2023, from https://www.washingtoninformer.com/epa-announces-100m-in-environmental-justice-grants/

On January 10th, the EPA announced $100 million worth of funding for environmental justice grants, which is the largest amount of environmental justice grant funding the EPA has ever offered. Congress’ 2022 Inflation Reduction Act set aside $3 billion for climate justice grants, so while this month’s announcement is certainly monumental, it is only a fraction of what may be to come. Local, state, and Tribal governments can apply for grants for climate justice projects, and the EPA emphasized that this funding is meant for under-resourced communities that have historically lacked federal support for environmental initiatives. Still, some have expressed concerns that federal grant programs usually allocate the most money to large and well-established organizations, and have feared that these grants won’t reach the communities that need it the most.

It’s great to hear that the EPA is making environmental justice a priority and beginning to allocate the funding dedicated to it under the Inflation Reduction Act. If successful, these grants and other funding in the future could transform the environmental justice efforts of communities that rarely get the federal support they need. However, I wonder about some advocates’ fears that these grants won’t really reach the communities they’re intended for. While I believe that the federal government needs to take action in the face of climate injustice, I’m not sure that it can fully appreciate the challenges of so many small, local communities. I hope that this grant program will be able to reach community-based organizations that know the struggles facing their area the best, and will be able to make use of this money for pollution cleanup, green energy initiatives, waste reduction efforts, and more.