Rep. Crockett Applauds Announcement of More than $3.5 Million for Texas Environmental Justice Projects

WASHINGTON — Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (TX-30) applauded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as they announced $3,578,356 to fund six Texas projects, including $652,662 for efforts to plant trees and other vegetative barriers in the St. Philips Community and Forest District in Southeast Dallas, that advance environmental justice as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. The organizations, which EPA selected through its Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving Cooperative Agreement and Environmental Justice Government-to-Government programs, will use the funds to ensure disadvantaged communities have access to clean air and water and climate resilience solutions in alignment with the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative.

Thanks to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act—the largest climate investment in U.S. history—this funding is a part of the largest investment ever announced under these two longstanding EPA programs. This is the first in a series of environmental justice grant announcements the agency will announce before the end of the year.

"Historic red-lining in North Texas has pushed Black and Brown neighborhoods closer to industrial sites, highways, and trash dumps – and the impact of this goes far beyond home values. Over the past century, rates of asthma and other cardio-pulmonary diseases have soared in parts of TX-30 disproportionately home to Black residents,” said Rep. Crockett. “Under President Biden, EPA has taken large leaps towards righting this historical wrong. This latest $652,662 grant will fund efforts to plant trees and other vegetative barriers in the St. Philips Community and Forest District in Southeast Dallas, providing a defense against air pollution and lowering temperatures for decades to come. Cooler and cleaner air is on the way!"

“No President has invested more in environmental justice than President Biden, and under his leadership we’re removing longstanding barriers and meaningfully collaborating with communities to build a healthier future for all,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Together, these community-driven projects will improve the health, equity, and resilience of communities while setting a blueprint for local solutions that can be applied across the nation.”

“These grants are unprecedented in several ways—for the historic amount of funding provided through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, and because money is going directly to communities that are ready to implement solutions to environmental issues,” said Regional Administrator Dr. Earthea Nance. “This means $3.5 million for projects in Texas that might otherwise remain overlooked and unfunded. These recipients are deeply knowledgeable about the issues facing their communities, and are ready to invest these grants in projects that will bring meaningful results.”

The grants announced today deliver on President Biden’s commitment to advance equity and justice throughout the United States. The two grant programs directly advance the President’s transformational Justice40 initiative to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.

The Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving (EJCPS) Program
EPA’s EJCPS program provides financial assistance to eligible organizations working to address local environmental or public health issues in their communities. The program builds upon President Biden’s Executive Orders 13985 and 14008, creating a designation of funds exclusively for small nonprofit organizations, which are defined as having 5 or fewer full-time employees, thus ensuring that grant resources reach organizations of lower capacity that historically struggle to receive federal funding. Eleven of the organizations selected for EJCPS this year are small nonprofit organizations, receiving over $1.6 million in total.

EPA EJCPS grant selections in Texas include the following:

• The Children’s Environmental Literacy Fund in Houston will receive $425,694 for engaging K-12 students in civic science to monitor air quality and watershed health in Greater Houston.
• The The DigDeep Right to Water Project in Hueco Tanks Colonia will receive $500,000 to bring short- and long-term safe water solutions to residents of the Hueco Tanks colonia, a rural community less than an hour’s drive from the City of El Paso and does not have access to piped water.
• Sewa International Inc. in Alief will receive $500,000 to mobilize youth volunteers to plant and sustain 1000 trees using water collars over the period of three years.
• Black United Fund of Texas, Inc. in Houston will receive $500,000 for solar workforce development trainings, illegal dumping abatement, and education in an environmental justice community in the Kashmere Gardens/Greater Fifth Ward neighborhood.

Environmental Justice Government-to-Government (EJG2G)
EPA’s EJG2G provides funding at the state, local, territorial, and Tribal level to support government activities in partnership with community-based organizations that lead to measurable environmental or public health impacts in communities disproportionately burdened by environmental harms.

EPA EJG2G grant selections in Texas include the following:

• The City of Dallas will receive $652,662 to add vegetative buffers along area roadways and measure the impact on air quality and reducing local heat island impact in the St. Philips Community in Southeast Dallas.
• The City of Houston Health Department will receive $1 million to address climate resilience, environmental vulnerability, and economic disadvantages in the Kashmere Gardens/Greater Fifth Ward neighborhood in Houston with strategies such as a community solar hub and flood alert system.

Additional Background:
From day one of his administration, President Biden has made achieving environmental justice a top priority. And in August 2022, Congress passed, and President Biden signed, the Inflation Reduction Act into law, creating the largest investment in environmental and climate justice in U.S. history. EPA received $3 billion in appropriations to provide grants and technical assistance for activities advancing environmental and climate justice.

Under the Inflation Reduction Act, EPA has launched and expanded innovative programs to provide more support than ever before to communities that unjustly bear the burdens of environmental harm and pollution. This includes the $177 million for the creation of 16 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (EJ TCTACs) to remove barriers to federal resources and help communities pursue funding opportunities like those made available through President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda. EPA has also launched and will award funds through the $550 million Thriving Communities Grantmaking Program before the end of 2023.

###

Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett represents portions of Dallas and Tarrant Counties, with the cities of Dallas, Grand Prairie, DeSoto, Cedar Hill, Lancaster, Duncanville, Glenn Heights, Hutchins, Wilmer, Arlington, Ovilla, and Seagoville.