EPA Makes $40 Million Available for Mid-Atlantic Environmental Justice Efforts

PHILADELPHIA - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Mid-Atlantic Region announced today that $40 million is now available for subgrants to communities under EPA’s Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking program. 

Last December, EPA announced 11 Grantmakers, including the Green and Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI) to serve as Regional Grantmaker in EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Region (Region 3) which includes Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. The Thriving Communities Grantmaking program was created under the Inflation Reduction Act’s Environmental and Climate Justice Program, to work in partnership along with the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (TCTAC), which are part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America Agenda. 

Applicants in the Mid-Atlantic region can now apply to Green and Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI) for subgrants of $150,000 to $350,000 to fund a wide range of environmental projects through one- or two-year grants. Organizations and communities can apply for subgrants here. Applications for two-year grants must be submitted by November 30, 2024. Applicants for one-year grants will be accepted through Spring 2025. In addition, GHHI will award up to 10 non-competitive awards for up to $75,000 for one-year grants.  Visit our website to see if you or your organization are eligible. 

These projects can involve small local clean ups, local emergency preparedness and disaster resiliency programs, environmental workforce development programs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, fenceline monitoring and asthma related projects, healthy homes programs, and projects addressing illegal dumping, as well as projects addressing other environmental justice issues affecting their communities. 

“These grants will empower communities to address their most pressing environmental problems,” said Adam Ortiz, EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator. “These subawards, when implemented, will ensure that all Americans, regardless of their zip codes, have an equal opportunity to breathe clean air, drink clean water and live healthy productive lives.” 

“GHHI’s Thriving Communities Grantmaking program provides an unprecedented opportunity to leverage the investments made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act to make tangible and transformative differences in communities throughout EPA Region 3,” said Ruth Ann Norton, president and CEO of the Baltimore-based Green & Healthy Homes Initiative. “Our grant portal is open, and we are actively accepting applications to fund projects that build community-based capacity and advance environmental justice. We are grateful to the Environmental Protection Agency, especially the team leading Region 3, for their commitment to investing in strategies and programs that will help reverse the effects of historic disinvestment in disadvantaged communities across the country.”