EPA REGION 10 Recipient: University of Washington (UW) Applicant Type: Institution of Higher Education Award Amount: $12,000,000 Title: Pacific Northwest Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Center Location: EPA Region 10 (AK, ID, OR, WA, and 271 native tribes) Partners:
Akiak Native Community, Swinomish Tribe- Education Division, Kuskokwim River Intertribal Fish Commission (KRIFC) (Tribe); Northwest Indian College, American Indian Studies Department (academic), Center for American Indian & Indigenous Studies (academic); Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute (Federal agency research institute); Clean Energy Institute, Center for Exposures, Diseases, Genomics, and Environment, Industrial Assessment Center, Northwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety, NW Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, Pacific Northwest Agricultural Safety and Health Center; (academic), National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI) (practice); El Centro de la Raza, El Proyecto Bienestar, Front and Centered, Sound Defense Alliance (community orgs) Goals and Description:
The objective of the Pacific Northwest Environmental Justice Thriving Communities (PNW-EJTC) Center is to provide technical assistance services to Region 10 program participants that will strengthen their capacity and effectiveness in applying to and successfully managing environmental and energy justice (EEJ) grants and programs. The center’s activities will include online/in-person outreach and engagement with regional participants, establishment of funded partnerships to foster community leadership, hosting of workshops and trainings, and consultations with center-affiliated faculty and students.
The center will provide program participants with assistance in (1) conducting environmental justice analyses and needs assessments, (2) identifying, applying for, and managing EEJ grants and programs, (3) facilitating meaningful engagement with other EEJ stakeholders and decision-makers, (4) building capacity to strengthen and focus their work on EEJ issues, and (5) fostering community leadership in EEJ solutions. The center’s geographic focus will reach tribal, rural, remote, and other underserved areas by collaborating with other established Region 10 focused UW centers.
To ensure services meet evolving regional needs, the center’s will be guided by a Performance Measurement Plan and input from two advisory boards (AB): the Tribal Advisory Panel (TAP) and the Community Governing Board (CGB). Main center outputs will be the number of program participants and partnerships, documented outreach efforts, utilization of services, evaluation reports from AB and program participants.
Center outcomes will be program participants’ increased capacity and effectiveness in applying for environmental/energy justice opportunities, increased participation in defining technical service needs and offerings for the region, and successful development, implementation, and continuation of environmental and energy justice programs led by PNW-EJTC program partners. University of Washington will continue to grow and expand its network of EJ TCTAC partners throughout the 5-year project period and facilitate dedicated travel to and provide substantial support to remote Alaskan communities.
University of Washington will collaborate closely with Willamette Partnership, which has also been selected to receive an EJ TCTAC award to support EPA Region 10 communities.