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Resources, Deadlines & State News
National & Regional
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U.S. EPA Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS) Cooperative Agreement
DEADLINE SOON!
The funding provided through the EJCPS Cooperative Agreement will be awarded to community-based organizations to support collaboration and partnerships with industry, government, academia, and other stakeholders so as to develop and implement solutions that address local environmental and public health issues. Organizations are encouraged to have a connection between the proposed project activities and applicable neighborhood, local, city, or regional land use planning efforts. Proposals should include outreach to affected underserved vulnerable communities and residents about environmental and public health issues and engage them in activities to plan, access, improve, and benefit from their local environment.
Application Deadline: February 12, 2016 Maximum Grant Award: $120,000 • To view the full announcement and access the application, CLICK HERE. • EJ Collaborative Problem Solving Cooperative Agreement Program Brochure (PDF) • 2014 Project Descriptions (PDF)
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Third Round of Promise Zones Grant Program - USDA & U.S. HUD
DEADLINE SOON!
The third and final round of the Promise Zone Grant Program is now open for submissions. Urban, rural, and tribal communities nationwide are invited to put forward plans to address multiple community revitalization challenges in a collaborative way. The seven awardees will receive priority access to federal
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Promise Zones are high poverty communities where the federal government partners with local leaders to increase economic activity, improve educational opportunities, leverage private investment, reduce violent crime, enhance public health and address other priorities identified by the community. Through the Promise Zone designation, communities will work directly with federal, state and local agencies to give local leaders proven tools to improve the quality of life in some of the country’s most vulnerable areas. On January 9, 2014, President Obama announced the five First Round Promise Zone designations, and eight more in the Second Round on April 28, 2015. CLICK HERE for a list of finalists and 13 designees from the first and second rounds. For more on Promise Zones CLICK HERE. Application Deadline: Application Request Form - Feb. 19, 2016 | Application: Feb. 23, 2016 Eligible Entities: An office/department of a local government or federally recognized tribe, or a non-profit in partnership with a local government or federally recognized tribe. Grant Award: The opportunity to engage Five AmeriCorps VISTA members in the Promise Zone; Assigned a federal liaison to assist with navigating federal programs; Given preferences for certain competitive federal programs and technical assistance from participating agencies; Receive Promise Zone tax incentives if enacted by Congress. Promise Zone Urban Stakeholder Webcast: Monday, February 1, 2016 | 2:30–3:30 PM EST - REGISTER HERE HUD will host a webcast to provide information and guidance to communities applying for designation for the third round of the Promise Zones Initiative. Time, date and registration link is listed below. The webcast will provide an overview of the Third Round Urban Application Guide and will include a question and answer session. Communities are encouraged to submit questions in advance to promisezones@hud.gov. Please include on the subject line: "Questions for Urban Webcast". Informational Sessions: Mapping Tool and Max Survey HUD and USDA will host several informational sessions for prospective applicants. Times, dates and registration links are listed below. At these sessions, applicants will have an opportunity to ask technical questions regarding the mapping tool and max survey. Informational sessions will be recorded and replay information for each informational session will be posted on the Promise Zones webpage. Thursday, January 21, 2016 | 2:00–3:00 PM EST - REGISTER HERE Thursday, January 28, 2016 | 2:00–3:00 PM EST - REGISTER HERE
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U.S. EPA Climate and Energy Webcast Series
Bringing Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to Low-Income Communities: What's Working
Webcast #2: Beyond the Light Touch: Next Steps for Improving Energy Efficiency in Multi-Family Affordable Housing January 19, 2016 | 1:00–2:30 PM EST - REGISTER HERE
Millions of rental units across the country are publicly subsidized to ensure affordable housing for low-income families. Many of these units were not built or furnished with energy efficiency in mind, and thus represent a significant opportunity to reduce energy costs for low-income households nationwide. By focusing on facilitating and incentivizing action by building owners, a growing number of states and organizations have found ways to reduce household energy cost burdens and provide multiple benefits that go beyond those achieved by standard “light touch” efficiency improvements (e.g., installing energy-efficient light bulbs and low-flow shower heads). For example, a whole-building approach can help identify cost-effective opportunities for investments that maximize energy cost savings and other benefits to residents. This 90-minute webcast will explore the specific challenges and opportunities faced by programs that aim to improve energy efficiency in multifamily affordable housing, with an emphasis on achieving multiple benefits through deeper retrofits. To view past webcasts in this series CLICK HERE.
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Grant Notice: Underground Storage Tank Compliance Assistance and Training Support in Indian Country
The U.S. EPA is soliciting proposals to promote the prevention of releases from federally-regulated underground storage tanks (USTs) in Indian country and the compliance of UST facilities in Indian country with federal regulations. Funding provided through this grant program shall be used for activities that support UST compliance in Indian country through education of owners and operators, training opportunities for Tribal government personnel, and Tribal UST compliance program development and collaboration. The goals of this cooperative agreement are to provide Tribal governments and UST facilities in Indian country with training, compliance assistance, and collaborative opportunities.
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Application Deadline: February 11, 2016
Eligibility: States and Territories and federally-recognized Tribes and Intertribal Consortia
Funding Available: The total estimated funding for this competitive opportunity is $1,000,000. Maximum funding in FY2016 shall not exceed $200,000.
More Information: To view the announcement of funding availability CLICK HERE; To view the guidelines CLICK HERE.
New York
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Gov. Cuomo Bolsters Environmental Protection Funding in Budget Proposal
On January 5th, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's unveiled his intention to allocate $300 Million for the State's Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) in the state’s next budget - which would be the highest it has ever been in the program's history. The EPF, as it’s known, currently sits at about $177 million and is used to fund a number of environmental and preservation projects via state agency programs, such as restoring historic sites, purchasing forest land and recycling programs, among others. "New York’s natural environment is one of our greatest assets – so we are stepping up to protect it like never before,” Said Gov. Cuomo “This year we are going to make big investments that will protect the environment and make our communities cleaner, greener and more resilient for generations to come.” Read the full announcement HERE. To dowload a copy of the FY2017 Executive Budget, CLICK HERE (see pages 71-78 for details on the EPF).
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NY BOA Summit Materials Now Available Online
On December 2nd and 3rd, 2015 in Albany, NY, CCLR, in collaboration with New Partners for Community Revitalization (NPCR), convened over 100 stakeholders committed to the common goal of revitalizing their economies, and laying the groundwork for over 50 resilient and vibrant communities. Participants came from the public, private, and non-profit sectors. Many of the attendees represented communities involved in the Brownfields Opportunity Areas (BOA) program from across New York State. NPCR has convened the Brownfields Opportunity Summit for nine years now and this year’s summit was especially notable because CCLR’s collaboration helped NPCR expand the focus of the event to include federal as well as state resources, while expanding the event itself from one day to two. The Summit opened with a half day consisting of two federal panels and a set of concurrent workshops, one focused on EPA brownfields grants and grant writing, and the other on the BOA Program and New York state policy. NY Secretary of State Cesar Perales joined attendees for an evening reception and announced the designation of eleven more BOA communities across the state, bringing the total number of designations to 26. Day two of the Summit continued with a panel of private developers working on brownfields properties, in partnership with the communities in which they’re working. A panel of state agency representatives offered information about state resources for redevelopment to close the day. Click here HERE for the Program Guide that provides information about the program and speakers, stories of successful redevelopment, and contact information for resources and agencies that can assist your community.
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New Jersey
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NJ Interagency Working Group Meets in Paterson for Redevelopment & CSO Workshop
New Jersey's Brownfields Interagency Work Group (IAWG) group is led by the NJ Business Action Center's Office for Planning Advocacy in collaboration with dozens of experienced federal, state and local government agencies. The core team reviews potential brownfield redevelopment projects from local municipalities. For more information contact the Business Action office at 866-534-7789. On December 4th, the NJ IAWG hosted a “Meet the Funders and Technical Resources: Forging Links between Combined Sewer Outfall (CSO) Permits and Redevelopment Goals” Workshop at Montclair State University. PowerPoint presentations from the event can be viewed HERE. The “New Jersey Guide to the Agencies” briefly outlines some of the key programs and resources that state and federal entities offer in relation to CSOs and redevelopment and can be found on the CCLR BLOG.
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Upcoming Events
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Registration Now Open for BCONE's Northeast Sustainable Communities Workshop 2016
Now in its 7th year, the Brownfield Coalition of the Northeast (BCONE) annual workshop aims to break new ground, offer new ideas, and posit new concepts on the topics of sustainability, collaboration and leverage, contamination, resiliency, brownfields, technology, and their impact on community revitalization. This year's theme is "Imagination and Creativity in Urban Change for the NJ/NY/CT/PA Metropolitan Area." Everyone who attends NSCW Impact is an active participant in shaping the ideas, projects, and policies that will guide the revitalization and redevelopment of the Northeast Region for years to come.
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Date: March 16, 2016
Location: New Jersley Institute of Technology (NJIT) | Newark, NJ
REGISTER HERE
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CDFA Launches NEW Brownfield Technical Assistance Program: Online Project Marketplace
The Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) has recently launched a new and innovative platform for specialized project-based technical assistance. Online Project Marketplace is an opportunity for communities to receive individual assistance with brownfields redevelopment projects through an open, online round-table discussion with redevelopment experts. If chosen to participate in the Online Project Marketplace, your community will give a brief presentation during the online conference detailing the specifics of your brownfield site, and will be followed by an open discussion among community officials, technical assistance partners and experts to provide you with initial suggestions in moving forward with your redevelopment plans and identifying financing sources. CDFA notes that communities that have already assessed and/or cleaned-up the site in question, or at least have a clean-up plan in place, are in the best position to take advantage of this opportunity. To enroll in the Online Project Marketplace, complete the application provided HERE. CDFA staff will follow up with you at the contact information you provide below to confirm your submission.
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Date: Friday February 2nd - 4th, 2016 | 12PM - 5PM
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Register Now for the Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit
Register now for a major gathering of creative placemakers. Get insights from experts and share your own. Connect with public officials, developers, funders, urban planners, cultural organization leaders and others who share your interests in connecting public policy and the arts. The 2016 program focuses on enhancing social equity and wealth; you will learn better ways to do well, and do good. The Creative Placemaking Leadership Summit brings together hundreds of creative placemakers from a variety of professional fields to learn and network. The Summit is open to everyone.
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Date: March 18, 2016
Location: Newark, NJ
REGISTER HERE
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Region 2 in the News
$1.3 Million Awarded for Community-Based Projects To Improve Health and Ecosystem of Long Island Sound: An Inspiring Tale of Leveraging and Interagency Partnership
Top federal and state environmental officials today announced 22 grants totaling more than $1.3 million to local government and community groups in New York and Connecticut to improve the health and ecosystem of Long Island Sound. Thirteen grants totaling $752,301 will be awarded to groups in New York, leveraged by $1,612,064 from the grantees themselves, resulting in $2,364,365 in funding. The projects funded by these grants will open up 7 miles of river for passage of native fish and restore 180 acres of coastal habitat, including lakes, ponds, and grasslands. For full descriptions of the Long Island Sound Futures Fund Grants, CLICK HERE. Initiated by the Long Island Sound Study in 2005, the Long Island Sound Futures Fund is a public-private grant program that pools funds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. To date, the program has invested $14 million in 324 projects in communities surrounding the sound. The projects have opened up 157 river miles for fish passage, restored 1,024 acres of critical fish and wildlife habitat and open space; treated 100 million gallons of pollution from ground and surface sources, and educated and engaged 1.8 million people from communities surrounding the Sound. Read the full news release HERE.
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