Announcements
DEP Among New Jersey Organizations, Agencies Slated to Receive More Than $4.8 Million in EPA Funding to Support Environmental Justice Work
EPA announced over $4.8 million to fund six projects across New Jersey that advance environmental justice as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, including $1,000,000 to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
These projects will support overburdened communities that have historically suffered from underinvestment to achieve cleaner air and water and implement climate resilience solutions. The selected projects include community outreach initiatives, climate resilience projects and nature-based programming.
Learn more about the recipients of the grant online.
Murphy Administration Breaks Ground on Liberty State Park Cleanup, Hosts Public Open House on Revitalization Effort
The Murphy Administration broke ground on the cleanup of legacy pollution that has long left approximately 235 acres of Liberty State Park inaccessible to the public, marking a significant milestone in the history of New Jersey’s most visited state park.
The Interior project is one of three phases of a broader Liberty State Park Revitalization Program that aims to restore and enhance natural features; provide active outdoor recreation amenities, including athletics facilities; add arts, cultural, and community spaces; expand passive recreation opportunities; improve transportation to and within the park; and build resilience to flooding and climate change through nature-based solutions.
Learn more about this project online.
EPA Makes Nearly $125 Million Investment to Spur Wastewater Infrastructure Improvements Across New Jersey
EPA has awarded New Jersey nearly $125 million to support cleaner water across the state, of which over $93 million is funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. A variety of projects are eligible for financing, including construction or restoration of sewers and wastewater treatment facilities and piping, stormwater management projects and habitat restoration and protection projects. More information is available online.
DEP, TCNJ, and Sustainable Jersey Announce Award
of $4.55 Million in Trees for Schools Grants
DEP Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette, Sustainable Jersey and The College of New Jersey announced the award to fund the planting of trees at 34 public schools, colleges, and universities in the state.
Seventy-five percent of grant project sites are located in an overburdened community, which surpasses the program’s goal of 40 percent. Moreover, many of the trees will be planted in urban communities where excessive paving and deficient tree cover results in higher temperatures, a condition known as the heat-island effect. More information is available online.
Milestones in Resilience: New Jersey Announces Nearly $298 Million in Construction Contracts for Landmark Flood-Resilience Projects
for Hudson River and Meadowlands
DEP Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette announced the award of nearly $298 million in construction contracts for two landmark flood-resilience projects in northern New Jersey funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Rebuild by Design competition grant program.
The projects – one within Hoboken and parts of Jersey City and Weehawken and another in the Meadowlands communities of Little Ferry, Carlstadt, Moonachie, South Hackensack and Teterboro – represent major milestones in protecting these regions from flooding resulting from more severe storms and sea-level rise associated with the worsening effects of climate change. These projects will benefit the overburdened communities that live in and around these flood-prone areas.
Learn more about the Rebuild By Design Hudson Project online.
Learn more about the Rebuild By Design Meadowlands Project online.
Participation Opportunities
EPA's Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (EJ TCTAC) Program Kickoff Webinar
The Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (EJ TCTAC) will provide training and other assistance to build community capacity for navigating federal grant application systems, writing strong grant proposals, and effectively managing grant funding.
Each of the technical assistance centers will also provide guidance on community engagement, meeting facilitation, translation and interpretation services for limited English-speaking participants, and create and manage communication channels to ensure all communities have direct access to resources and information. This aims to remove barriers and improve accessibility for communities with environmental justice concerns.
Join the webinar on October 30 from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM to:
- Learn about the technical assistance resources available.
- Discover upcoming funding opportunities and training programs.
- Explore our vision for building power across the region.
Learn About Extreme Heat Health Risks
Take the Heat Hub NJ Survey!
Heat Hub NJ is a digital resource on all things related to extreme heat in NJ. To prepare for the launch of the cooling center locator, Heat Hub NJ welcomes all to take a survey to test your knowledge on extreme heat and the health risks associated with it. The results of the survey will help prepare for cooling center openings, operations, and alerts once the cooling center locator launches in Spring 2024.
Learn about extreme heat and take the survey online.
Upcoming Environmental Justice Law Public Hearings
November 20- EMR Advanced Recycling, LLC - AO25 - Camden, Camden County (in-person) (español)
December 4 - Bergen Generating Station - AO25 - Ridgefield, Bergen County (virtual)
Facilities subject to the Environmental Justice Law must facilitate meaningful opportunities for overburdened communities to engage in permitting decisions for pollution-generating facilities through an enhanced public participation process. Subscribe to EJ Law notices by County
Funding Opportunities
EJ4Climate Grant Program
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) recently launched the third edition of the EJ4Climate grant program that addresses the theme “Community empowerment strategies to improve resilience to extreme weather events in urban settings”.
Applicants can submit proposals up to $200,000. Applications are due November 9.
The call for proposals can be found online.
More information about this grant program is available online.
Drinking Water System Infrastructure Resilience
and Sustainability Program
EPA announced $19 million in new grant funding that will work to improve the climate resilience of the nation’s water infrastructure. The funding available under this competitive grant opportunity will assist public water systems in underserved communities, small or disadvantaged, that are working to prepare for and reduce vulnerability to impacts from climate change ranging from extreme flooding to extreme drought. Applications due November 6.
More information about this grant opportunity is available online.
Funding Availability for FY 2024 Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup Grants
EPA’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR) is soliciting applications from eligible entities for Brownfields Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup Grant funding. These Brownfields Grants allow more vacant and abandoned properties to be turned into community assets that will attract jobs and promote economic revitalization in communities.
More information is available online. Applications are due November 13.
Coastal Habitat Restoration and Resilience Grants
To support opportunities for tribes, and/or tribal entities, and underserved communities to meaningfully engage in coastal habitat restoration activities. Potential activities include:
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Capacity building, (municipal or regional-scale resilience planning, project planning and feasibility studies, stakeholder engagement, proposal development for future funding, and outreach and education, hiring of staff to increase capacity to support implementation)
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Actionable science support (collection and/or analysis of climate, habitat or other community- or conservation-related data that informs planning and decision making)
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Restoration project activities (engineering and design, permitting, on-the-ground restoration, and pre- and post-project implementation monitoring)
More information is available online. Applications are due December 19.
2023 Clean School Bus Rebate Program
EPA is prioritizing applications that will replace buses serving high-need local education agencies, rural areas, Tribal school districts funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and public school districts receiving basic support payments for students living on Tribal land. Eligible applicants can apply to receive funding for the purchase of up to 25 zero-emission (ZE) and/or clean school buses, along with ZE charging infrastructure and eligible workforce development costs.
More information is available online. Applications are due on January 31 at 4 PM.
Rural, Small, and Tribal Technical Assistance (RST TA)
EPA’s providers deliver targeted technical assistance and training to rural, small, and tribal municipalities and wastewater treatment systems to protect public health and safeguard the environment. The RST TA providers serve an important role in helping to:
- Ensure that rural, small, and tribal communities that have difficulty in securing public funding receive the help they need to access resources to support infrastructure improvements.
- Support rural, small, and tribal wastewater treatment systems – centralized and decentralized – build their technical, managerial, and financial capacity to operate their systems well and maintain compliance.
Learn more about the RST TA online. Applications are ongoing.
Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Program Kickoff Workshop
The CPRG program is a nationwide, two-phase grant funded through the Inflation Reduction Act. In phase one New Jersey received $3 million from the USEPA to update and enhance the state’s existing climate action plans.
This is an opportunity for overburdened communities to provide valuable feedback on the state’s greenhouse gas reduction priorities and learn what can be expected throughout the CPRG planning and implementation process.
Career Opportunities
NOAA Equity Lead and Coordinator
NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management is committed to providing equitable access to their products and services, and to working with communities, including tribal and underserved, to help them meet their coastal resilience goals. The person in this position will expand partnerships and closely work with partners and organizations to improve our services to marginalized, underserved, and underrepresented communities.
Learn more about this career opportunity online. Applications close on October 28.
EJ Disrupt Design: An Environmental Justice Movement Fellowship
EJ Disrupt Design: An Environmental Justice Movement Fellowship launches its request for applications on December 1. The fellowship is a 2-year experience made up of progressive phases in Environmental Justice and Design for leaders of the Environmental Justice Movement. Fellows will participate in a combination of virtual and in-person retreats, group coaching sessions, and community ideation to scale project prototypes and build power.
Learn more about this career opportunity online.
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All New Jersey residents, regardless of income, race, ethnicity, color, or national origin, have a right to live, work, and recreate in a clean and healthy environment. Historically, New Jersey’s low-income communities and communities of color face a disproportionately high number of environmental and public health stressors and, as a result, suffer from increased adverse health effects. New Jersey seeks to correct these outcomes by furthering the promise of environmental justice.
DEP’s Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) aims to improve the quality of life in New Jersey’s most vulnerable communities by educating and empowering communities who are often outside of government decision-making processes and guiding DEP’s programs and other state departments and agencies in implementing environmental justice.
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