OEJ Newsletter - November 9th, 2023

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Announcements

Biden-Harris Administration Announces New Get the Lead Out Initiative to Accelerate Removal of Lead Service Lines Nationwide as Part of Investing in America Agenda

The Get the Lead Out (GLO) Initiative funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will help 200 underserved communities access technical assistance to identify and remove lead service lines and ensure safer drinking water. Communities can request assistance from the Get the Lead Out (GLO) Initiative by completing a request form online.

New Authoritative Guide Released to Assist Municipalities in Conducting Climate Vulnerability Assessments

The Climate Change-Related Hazard Vulnerability Assessment (CCRHVA) Guide is now available online for municipal leaders and planners to bring their municipalities in compliance with the New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law (MLUL) and prepare their communities for climate change. The guide is aimed at assisting New Jersey’s elected and appointed officials and community leaders with efforts to assess and address impacts of climate change throughout all systems that sustain their communities.

Murphy Administration Unveils Report Highlighting State Government Climate Resilience Accomplishments

The Murphy Administration’s Interagency Council on Climate Resilience has released a Two-Year Anniversary Accomplishments Report highlighting New Jersey state agencies’ climate resilience success stories covering a spectrum of initiatives ranging from financial and tax implications of mitigation strategies to new flood protection measures for inland communities.

Read the 2021 New Jersey Climate Change Resilience Strategy and the Two-Year Anniversary Accomplishments Report online.

DEP Relaunches Brownfield Development Area Program at Former Industrial Site in Sayreville

The Brownfield Development Area Program aims to assist selected communities across the state in designing and implementing comprehensive remediation and redevelopment plans for underutilized contaminated properties.

The former National Lead site in Sayreville was once contaminated with heavy metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), radiological contaminants and other pollutants. Remediation work at the 418-acre site is nearly complete after 15 years, and construction is anticipated to begin in spring 2024 to transform the property into a $2.5 billion mixed-use redevelopment project. It is the largest and most complex redevelopment project in New Jersey history.

Municipalities are encouraged to apply online through April 30, 2024 to designate abandoned and blighted properties in their communities as a Brownfield Development Area (BDA).

Learn more about the project and the Brownfield Development Area Program online.

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.

Participation Opportunities 

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)

December 5 - Bloom/Equinix Facility - AO25 - Secaucus, Hudson County (virtual)

December 6 - Diversified Global Graphics Group - AO25 - Jersey City, Hudson 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

Webinar: Technical Assistance for Tribes and Indigenous Peoples to Advance Environmental Justice and Climate/Energy Justice

The EPA Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights (OEJECR) will host a webinar to present information on the new technical assistance programs, such as the Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (TCTAC’s), that are available to Tribes and Indigenous Peoples. 

This webinar series is intended to build the capacity of Tribal governments, Indigenous Peoples and other environmental justice practitioners by discussing priority environmental justice issues of interest to Tribes and Indigenous Peoples.

This webinar will take place on December 14 from 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM.

NJDEP Grants and Loans Needs Survey

Help us help you!  Please take the NJDEP's survey to share your environmental needs and challenges as a local government or nonprofit organization. Your responses will help the NJDEP better assist you through grants, loans, and other opportunities.  

• If you represent or work for a county or municipality, please take this survey.  
• If you work for a nonprofit organization, please take this survey.

Plus, stop by the NJDEP booth at the League of Municipalities next week to talk with the Uniting Financial Resources team about grants and loans questions. 

If you have any questions, reach out to unitingfinancialresources@dep.nj.gov.  

EPA Community, Equity & Resiliency Virtual Open House

The Community, Equity & Resiliency (CER) initiative will help communities, especially those that have been historically low-income and overburdened, navigate once-in-a-lifetime financing and resources available to confront the climate crisis and reduce pollution. 

Central to the initiative is the launch of a new Community, Equity, & Resiliency website highlighting grant and program resources to help communities learn about and apply for funding programs to make place-based change. Register online.

Upcoming events:

• Monday, November 13 @ 4:00 PM - Building Stronger Futures: Tribal and Indigenous Communities and the Inflation Reduction Act
• Tuesday, November 14 @ 11:30 AM - Community Engagement: Building Strong Communities Through Collaboration
• Thursday, November 9 @ 6:30 PM - Hot, Crowded & Unhealthy: The Effects of Heat and Infrastructure on Black and Brown Communities
• Tuesday, November 14 @ 6:30 PM - Fresh Air, Fresh Start: Redefining Health & Equity

National Environmental Justice Community Engagement Call

EPA invites EJ advocates to participate in its National EJ Community Engagement calls. The purpose of these calls is to inform the community and other stakeholders about EPA's EJ work and enhance opportunities to maintain an open dialogue with EJ advocates. Agenda items for the upcoming meeting include Grants Updates and Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights (OEJECR) 101 Presentation.

The call will take place on Tuesday, November 14 from 2 PM to 4 PM.

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.

Funding Opportunities

Murphy Administration Announces 2024 Green Acres and Urban Parks Funding Round

DEP announced the availability of Green Acres and Urban Parks grants and loans to local governments and nonprofits to develop or update parks and preserve open space. 

Green Acres funds for the 2024 application round will establish, expand, or revitalize new and existing parks, acquire land, improve waterfront access, develop athletic fields and playgrounds, create open space, and enhance land stewardship. Green Acres will continue to provide non-matching grants to incentivize projects in Adversely Stressed Overburdened Communities in Urban Aid municipalities.

Green Acres will host several virtual application information sessions:

• November 13: Application overview and Q&A for Acquisition, Park Development, Stewardship, and Jakes Law projects.
• December 13: Application Q&A for all projects
• January 17: Application Q&A for all projects

Notices of these information sessions will be sent to stakeholders, and links to the virtual application information sessions will be posted on the Green Acres website. The virtual application information sessions will be recorded, and the recordings will be available on the Green Acres website.

More information about the applications are available online. Applications are due February 7.

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:

1. 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)

2. Actionable science support (collection and/or analysis of climate, habitat or other community- or conservation-related data that informs planning and decision making)

3. 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 has announced their 2023 Clean School Bus Rebate Program providing $500 million in funding for electric school buses. 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. 

The EPA has designated 54 New Jersey school districts as priority. An additional 145 school districts are eligible to self-certify as priority. 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:

1. 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.
2. 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

EPA Environmental Protection Specialist

In these positions, you will: 

• Serve on teams and workgroups to develop, implement, and monitor plans to accomplish program goals in communities with environmental justice concerns;
• Liaise with external stakeholders such as underserved communities, other EPA offices/divisions, and other Federal or State agencies in order to develop and deliver trainings and technical assistance to further environmental justice initiatives;
• Manage grants, cooperative agreements, and/or interagency agreements related to environmental justice programs and projects.

Learn more about this job opportunity online. Applications are due November 9 @ 11:59 PM.

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. Launched by The New School's Tishman Environment and Design Center, 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.