The grants build on the Shapiro Administration’s goal to ensure every community has equal access to environmental protections.
“Environmental Justice is a core part of DEP’s mission, and this program will not just help these organizations but also the people in the communities they support,” said DEP Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley. “At DEP we know that proactive, transparent outreach is key to empowering communities and ensuring that people have a voice in the process.”
The goal of the grant is to ensure that historically marginalized and underserved communities have access to information and resources about environmental protection, DEP permits, regulations, and grant opportunities.
Selected Community Benefit Organizations (CBOs) can put the grant towards community education, outreach, engagement, and capacity-building, with flexibility to meet the specific needs of the communities they serve.
For example, two of the CBO grantees, Ngozi, Inc. and Spanish American Civic Association, will mobilize anti-dumping task forces to help prevent illegal trash dumping in their communities.
CBOs are required to emphasize DEP grant opportunities, DEP's permitting processes, how to engage with DEP, and the agency's role in their communities.
Additionally, all of the CBOs will organize a community-driven event, such as a local cleanup or educational workshop.
“We’re excited to forge, rebuild, and foster relationships with stakeholders and communities across Pennsylvania. We’re energized at the opportunity to bring new voices to the environmental justice conversation,” said DEP Special Deputy Secretary for the Office of Environmental Justice Fernando Treviño. “Grant recipients representing rural and urban areas and people of diverse backgrounds and lived experiences will have the opportunity to share expertise and gain the support of a statewide network of organizations engaged in environmental justice.
The grants are funded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Government-To-Government grant.
DEP awarded sub-grants of $50,000 each to 12 community organizations in the following counties--
Allegheny
-- City of Pittsburgh – Casa San Jose
-- City of Pittsburgh – Project Matters
Crawford
-- City of Meadville – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Fund Inc.
Dauphin
-- City of Harrisburg – Ngozi, Inc.
Erie
-- City of Erie – Urban Erie Community Development Corporation
Lancaster
-- City of Lancaster – Spanish American Civic Association
Lehigh
-- City of Allentown – Unidos Foundation
Philadelphia
-- City of Philadelphia – Alianza Latina
-- City of Philadelphia – Hunting Park Green
Multi-county/Regional
-- Northcentral Pennsylvania – Shamokin Creek Restoration Alliance
-- Northeastern and Northcentral Pennsylvania – Northeastern Pennsylvania Pan African Coalition
-- Statewide
-- Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition
This marks the first grant DEP has received focused solely on proactive community engagement.
DEP’s Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) has become a national model for proactive community outreach and engagement throughout the Commonwealth.
DEP has created an online mapping tool to better identify Environmental Justice communities and updated the Environmental Justice policy to ensure that underserved communities have equal access to environmental protection and public participation.
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Related Article:
-- Center For Coalfield Justice: Environmental Justice Communities Abandoned By Global Plastics Treaty Process [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- AP: Negotiators Fail To Reach Agreement On Plastic Pollution Treaty, Talks To Resume Next Year
-- Financial Times: UN Plastics Treaty Talks Fail After Oil Producers Block Output Limits
[Posted: December 4, 2024] PA Environment Digest
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