Project Summaries 2022-23 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers Program (EJ TCTAC) (EN)

2022-23 ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE THRIVING COMMUNITIES TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTERS PROGRAM (EJ TCTAC)

2022-23 ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE THRIVING COMMUNITIES TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTERS PROGRAM (EJ TCTAC) Project Summaries by Geographic Area The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is announcing the selection of 17 selectees for the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers Program (EJ TCTACs or Program.) Seventeen organizations and their partners have been selected to receive a total of approximately $177 million to establish a network of technical assistance centers (Centers) across the nation providing direct technical assistance, training, and capacity-building support to communities and organizations to advance environmental and energy justice priorities.

With this critical investment, the Centers will provide training and other assistance to build capacity of local grassroots nonprofit organizations, tribal governments, and other similar community stakeholders in navigating federal, state, and private grant application systems such as Grants.gov and SAM.gov, writing stronger grant proposals, and effectively managing grant funding. In addition, these Centers will provide guidance on community engagement, meeting facilitation, and translation and interpretation services for limited English-speaking participants, thus removing barriers and improving accessibility to resources for communities with environmental justice concerns.

Each of the Centers will also create and manage communication channels to ensure all communities have direct access to resources and information. Final awards are subject to administrative and legal reviews to verify compliance with applicable requirements. EPA and the US Department of Energy (DOE) will cooperatively fund these 17 awards, which will feature 14 Regional Centers and 3 National Centers working collaboratively across the United States supporting communities. These 17 awards will be in the form of incrementally funded cooperative agreements where EPA and DOE staff will have substantial involvement in the oversight and implementation of the Program.

The establishment of this Program and Centers is in direct response to feedback from communities and environmental justice leaders who have long called for technical assistance and capacity building support for communities and their partners as they work to access critical federal, state, and private resources and engage in decision-making that impacts them.

The 17 Centers will provide comprehensive coverage for the entire United States through a network of over 160 partners including community-based organizations, additional academic institutions, and other stakeholders so more communities can access federal funding opportunities like those made available through President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as well as funding from states and private foundations. All centers are currently scheduled to operate from June 2023 to June 2028. For more information, visit: https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/environmental-justice-thriving- communities-technical-assistance-centers .

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EPA REGION 1

EPA REGION 1 Recipient: University of Connecticut Applicant Type: Institution of Higher Education Award Amount: $10,000,000 Title: New England EJ Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center Location: EPA Region 1 (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT, and 10 tribal nations) Partners:

New England Environmental Finance Center, University of Maine System DBA University Southern Maine (academic) Elevate Policy Lab, Yale School of Public Health (academic) Institute for New England Native American Studies, University of Massachusetts Boston (academic) New England Rural Health Association (non-profit) Hispanic Health Council (non-profit) Environmental Protection Network (non-profit) Environmental Justice Coordinators (state government) Connecticut Dept of Energy and Environmental Protection Massachusetts Dept of Environmental Protection Rhode Island Dept of Environmental Management New Hampshire Dept of Environmental Services Vermont Dept of Environmental Conservation Maine Dept of Environmental Protection & Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation & the Future Goals and Description:

The New England EJ Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center (EJ TCTAC) will build capacity in New England (EPA Region 1) underserved and rural/remote communities to address environmental and energy justice concerns, serving as a resource and technical assistance hub. The New England EJ TCTAC will provide technical assistance services, education, outreach and community engagement on environmental quality, energy justice, climate adaptation, and civic justice, and will feature a Tribal program. The EJ TCTAC will offer direct technical assistance to underserved communities and rural/remote areas in seven general areas: Technical Needs Assessments.

Through socioeconomic and environmental benefits analysis, the EJ TCTAC team will assess the needs of the community and barriers to the adoption of environmental and energy incentives. EJSCREEN, EnviroAtlas and CEJST tools will be integrated in the assessment analyses, along with local data collected in collaboration with state and regional agencies. An assessment of problem-solving opportunities through environmental justice authorities will also be provided. Funding Resource Roadmaps. Guidance on environmental and energy funding programs will be tailored to different community needs.

Through one-on-one consultations, the EJ TCTAC team will advise on individual projects, provide information on available funding resources, and guide communities on funding eligibility requirements. Project-specific Documentation Review. Review technical documents and translate those in plain language. The EJ TCTAC team will assist communities with summarizing technical documents,

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EPA REGION 1

understanding program requirements, and providing write-ups written in plain terms and translated in other languages beyond English. Proposal Submission Assistance. Direct assistance with the grants.gov, sam.gov and asap.gov platforms, which are often an obstacle to communities submitting proposals and managing grants. Grant Writing Support. Access to grant resources including checklists, templates, presentations, and application packages. Multilingual resource materials including webinars and fact sheets will be provided. Proposal Review. Provide feedback and review of federal, state, private foundation, and Tribal grant proposals.

Proposal reviews will be conducted on a rolling basis depending on the deadlines for the request of proposals for each grant funding cycle. Mobile Technical Assistance. The EJ TCTAC team will provide mobile technical assistance to communities in New England. The mobile technical assistance team will rotate amongst the six New England states and attend local events, farmers markets and other social gatherings to advertise EJ TCTAC services and provide consultation. The mobile EJ TCTAC team will also offer on-demand services to communities.

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EPA REGION 2

EPA REGION 2 Recipient: West Harlem Environmental Action, Inc. (WE ACT) Applicant Type: Not for Profit Award Amount: $10,000,000 Title: WE ACT Technical Assistance Collaborative Location: EPA Region 2 (NJ, NY, and 8 federally recognized Indian Nations) Partners:

New York University School of Law Institute for Policy Integrity (academic) Inter American University of Puerto Rico (in-kind academic partner) Columbia University Climate School (academic) Environmental Protection Network (nonprofit, technical assistance) Clean Energy Group (nonprofit, technical assistance) New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance (nonprofit, environmental justice) South Ward Environmental Alliance (nonprofit, environmental justice) Goals and Description:

WE ACT for Environmental Justice will lead and host an Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center for EPA Region 2 – the WE ACT Technical Assistance Collaborative – serving underserved, rural and remote communities within the area of service that includes New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands and eight Indian Nations.

WE ACT is uniquely suited to serve as the EJ TCTAC lead because of their long history of engagement with decisionmakers and stakeholders to address local environmental justice issues, and because of their own experience in building organizational capacity, from an unfunded volunteer organization to a nationally leading EJ organization with 30 staff and two offices, in Harlem (NYC) and Washington, DC.

The WE ACT Technical Assistance Collaborative brings together academic partners with climate, policy, regulatory, and decisionmaker engagement expertise; outreach partners from across the region, with an emphasis on reaching rural and remote communities; and energy justice technical and funding expertise. Central features of the approach and design of the center include: A Steering Committee , comprising all the partners listed, along with additional community-based partners and technical assistance providers as deemed appropriate during the development and life of the TCTAC.

The Steering Committee will play a key role in program design, on evaluation and the incorporation of feedback, and ensuring that TA services and TA delivery are appropriate for the target constituencies. An outreach network , with locally based outreach partners, that extends throughout EPA Region 2, reaching underserved and rural/remote communities. including trainings, the call center, and the referral network. The outreach network will also play a key role in incorporating community feedback, including through the initial Needs Assessment and annual evaluations as well as ongoing input to improve services and delivery to meet the needs of target communities.

An EJ TCTAC call center , staffed by WE ACT, that can provide advice on grant writing and fundraising, and connect participants to a rich referral network that includes WE ACT staff specializing in Policy, Civic Engagement, and Environmental Health. A referral network , to enhance the volume and breadth of services provided by the TCTAC.

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