EPA REGION 7 Recipient: Wichita State University (WSU) Applicant Type: Institution of Higher Education Award Amount: $10,000,000 Title: Promoting Environmental Justice in EPA Region 7 through a Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center at the Environmental Finance Center at Wichita State University Location: EPA Region 7 (IA, KS, NE, MO, and 9 tribal nations) Partners:
Center for Rural Affairs (nonprofit service provider) Climate and Energy Project (nonprofit service provider) Community Engineering Corps (nonprofit service provider) Environmental Protection Network (nonprofit service provider) Iowa Environment Council (nonprofit service provider) Kansas Rural Center (nonprofit service provider) Kansas State University Engineering Extension (academic) Metropolitan Congregations United (faith based) The Environmental Finance Center (EFC) at Wichita State University (WSU) will establish and operate an Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center to build the capacity of individuals, organizations, and institutions who serve underserved and disadvantaged communities in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, and adjoining indigenous nations, to make meaningful advances towards environmental and energy equity at the local, state, regional, and federal levels.
Through community engagement, trainings, technical assistance, applied research, tool development, community assessments, and more, the Center will build a community’s ability to participate in environmental justice and energy justice decision-making at all levels of government, find and apply for grants, and engage with the private sector to be part of energy and infrastructure project design and development. The EFC at WSU is uniquely positioned to seamlessly set-up and conduct the business of an Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center.
The EFC currently serves large, small, rural, remote, and tribal communities; nonprofits; businesses; local governments; and state and federal agencies across the Heartland. The establishment of the EJ TCTAC as part of the EFC WSU will advance its vision of thriving communities, empowered to take actions that enhance their environmental and financial health to improve the quality of life for everyone in EPA R7. The cornerstone of the EJ TCTAC’s role is as a listener to underserved communities who have historically and systematically been disproportionately impacted by environmental, energy, climate, and public health adversities.
Through an engagement and community assessment process the Center will learn from communities about their burdens, barriers, priorities, and opportunities, then respond to the unique community needs with training, assistance, support, and resources. The result will be an increase in a community’s capacity to identify, apply for, and receive grants, and to lead efforts that improve environmental justice and energy justice outcomes. The EJ TCTAC will serve as a hub for information, training, resources, technical assistance (TA), and connection for addressing environmental justice and energy justice concerns in underserved communities in R7.
Activities of the Center will include both 1) general services and 2) targeted community engagement and services. General Services include call-center availability to respond to requests for information or services (phone, email, online forms, direct messaging through social media, etc.), and provision of regular trainings on topics with wide interest. To start, grant trainings and civic engagement trainings will be provided in a variety of Goals and Description: