EJ Ready Successes
By Angelo Logan, Liberty Hill Senior Director of Environmental & Climate Justice
Return to NewsletterClimate Pollution Reduction Grant $500 Million
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced that an astonishing $4.3 billion in grants have been awarded to 25 selected applications to implement community-driven solutions to tackle climate change, improve air quality, and advance environmental justice. Liberty Hill’s EJ Ready cohort members in collaboration with South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQM) were among those selected!
The air pollution agency, SCAQMD, will be awarded roughly $500 million in grant funding to tackle the climate crisis and address environmental justice in its efforts to transition the freight and port’s transportation sector to zero emissions.
The funding will focus on ports, truck freeways and warehouses in environmental justice communities in the Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernadino and Orange Counties.
As part of the EJ Ready collaboration with AQMD a Community Benefit Plan (CBP) was negotiated and included in the award. The CBP includes a Community Advisory Panel to oversee entire expenditure, $20 million in community-based solutions, such as community solar, EV ride-shared, E-bike libraries and more. Another critical competent to the CBP is the eligibility elimination of hydrogen and carbon capture projects.
Community Change Grant $20 Million
EJ Ready cohort member Active SGV has also benefited from participating in the program through its Opportunity Mapping, Organizational Infrastructure and Capacity Trainings and the Technical Assistance Grant. The program is particularly important for the San Gabriel Valley-based organization and its frontline work in a region with significant environmental justice issues, including being home to several major highways, industrial facilities, and transportation corridors that contribute to high levels of air pollution.
Specifically, Active SGV used their TA grant to support the development of their Community Change grant proposal. As a result, Active SGV and Day One Coalition, was recently awarded the $20 million grant from the Community-Driven Investments for Change initiative to support and implement community-scale projects to address environmental and climate justice challenges.
As federal funding for climate, environmental and social justice initiatives becomes steadily available, Liberty Hill is committed to continue supporting our frontline community partners through our EJ Ready program.
