A total of $3 million in Environmental Justice
Community Impact Grants is now available to mitigate environmental and public health
threats in low-income and minority communities. This funding was
included in the expanded Environmental Protection Fund, part of Governor
Cuomo's aggressive Environmental Justice initiative, in this year’s
State Budget. More than $3 million will be distributed to communities
around the state, the most ever offered in a single grant round in the
decade-long existence of the initiative.
"These grants empower residents to address
the environmental concerns that directly affect where they live, and
during the last 10 years, remarkable progress has been made one
neighborhood at a time," Governor Cuomo said.
"With this major increase in funding, we will expand the reach of the
program to combat this inequality and address environmental justice
concerns in even more communities across New York."
The Community Impact Grants are administered
through the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Office of
Environmental Justice. Since the program's launch in 2006, the
Department of Environmental Conservation has distributed more than $4
million for 121 Environmental Justice projects statewide.
Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul announced
today’s record Environmental Justice funding at the New York City
Sustainable Development & Collaborative Governance Conference.
Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul said,
"Governor Cuomo has prioritized lifting up all communities across the
state through strategic investments in every region,” who announced
today’s record Environmental Justice funding. By focusing on
environmental and public health projects, these grants will directly
impact vulnerable New Yorkers and improve their quality of life."
Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said,
"Supporting community based efforts to improve environmental quality
and protect public health is essential, and I’m proud of the
accomplishments we’ve achieved over the past decade of this program. The
increased EPF funding provided this year will further enhance, and
jumpstart new, projects in many EJ communities across the state, and I
look forward to continuing to grow this important program in the years
ahead."
Not-for-profit community-based organizations
are eligible to apply for Community Impact Grants to work on projects
that address environmental and public health concerns of the residents
in the impacted neighborhood. Organizations are required to have their
primary office located in the affected community, serve residents in one
city, town or borough and have a total annual revenue less than
$3,000,000.
Organizations can request up to $50,000.
Projects must address a community’s exposure to multiple harms and risks
and include a research component that will be used to expand the
knowledge of the affected community. Previous projects awarded by the
Department of Environmental Conservation have included citizen science,
water/air quality monitoring, urban farming, alternative energy
projects, curriculum development, green infrastructure installation and
more. A complete list of previous projects and winners is available here.
All applicants are required to register and
prequalify in the Grants Gateway before applying for a Community Impact
Grant. This is a web-based grants management tool used to improve the
way grants are administered by the state. Once registered and
prequalified, organizations can then apply for the grant in the Grants
Gateway. Instructions and application are available here.
The Department of Environmental Conservation's Office of Environmental Justice will host a webinar on November 30 at 1:30 p.m. to educate organizations on the grants process and answer any questions they may have. Register for the webinar here.
The deadline to submit an application for the Environmental Justice Community Impact Grant is January 31 at 3 p.m.
For a complete list of guidelines more information, contact the
Department of Environmental Conservation's Office of Environmental
Justice at 866.229.0497, justice@dec.ny.gov or http://www.dec.ny.gov/public/
Source: Press Office, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
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