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Environmental Justice Newsletter
April 25th, 2024
Summary of Important Dates
Announcements
EPA Announces Online Environmental Justice Clearinghouse
Under the Biden Administration, EPA has established the Environmental Justice (EJ) Clearinghouse as a public, internet-based, wholistic resource composed of culturally and linguistically appropriate and accessible materials related to environmental justice. This clearinghouse will act as a living library that provides information on technical assistance, tools, and resources to assist communities with environmental justice concerns in building capacity for public participation. Users can continuously help improve the clearinghouse tool by proposing additional resources or submitting feedback.
NJDEP Launches Updated Heat Hub NJ
NJDEP's Heat Hub NJ is now live! Originally launched as a prototype in 2023, Heat Hub NJ is a digital resource on all things related to extreme heat in NJ. Recognizing the undeniable challenges that increasingly hotter days have on the health and welfare of New Jersey residents, the State has created an online space dedicated to heat resilience. Residents can use this site to learn the basics of extreme heat, how it is impacting daily life and the environment, the risks it poses to human health and wellbeing, and vulnerability factors for extreme heat.
Participation Opportunities
Register Now for Upcoming Environmental Justice Community Engagement Session in Newark!
Discuss your concerns at the next EJ Community Engagement Session with DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette and EPA Region 2 Regional Administrator Lisa Garcia.
Date and Time: Tuesday April 30th, 2024, 6:00-7:30pm
Location: Newark Main Public Library, 5 Washington Street Newark, NJ 07102
Attend in-person or virtually via Zoom.Translation is available in Spanish, Haitian Creole, and Brazilian Portuguese.
 Upcoming Environmental Justice Law Public Hearings
May 8- Middlesex County Utility Authority- Sayreville, Middlesex Couty, AO-25 Title V Renewal (virtual)
June 12- Gaeta Recycling- Patterson, Passaic County, EJ Rule (hybrid)
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
NJ Extreme Heat Resilience Action Plan Open for Public Comment!
The Interagency Council on Climate Resilience's Draft Extreme Heat Resilience Action Plan is now available for public feedback! This plan identifies the challenges associated with rising temperatures and the actions of state departments and agencies to address them. Submit comments and suggestions via online form through Monday, May 20, 2024.
Additionally, the Interagency Council is hosting two virtual public webinars to showcase the draft Extreme Heat Resilience Action Plan on Monday, April 29, and Tuesday, May 7. Webinars will take place online via Microsoft Teams. Registration is required.
NEJAC Request for Public Comment
The National Environmental Justice Advisory Council wants to hear from you! The Council's Cumulative Impacts Framework Charge and the EPA Policy on Environmental Justice for working with Federally Recognized Tribes and Indigenous Peoples Update are still open for public comment. Comments are due May 7, 2024 and can be submitted through this webform or by sending comments via email to nejac@epa.gov.
Funding and Technical Assistance Opportunities
In case you missed it, see below for opportunities that provide funding and assistance for projects related to green infrastructure, climate change, healthy communities, and more.
3 Billion in Funding Now Available through EPA's Clean Ports Program!
The Clean Ports Funding Program will build on EPA’s Ports Initiative that helps our nation’s ports, a critical part of our infrastructure and supply chain, address disproportionate public health and environmental impacts on surrounding communities.
The $3 billion will be disbursed between two separate funding opportunities- the Zero-Emission Technology Deployment Competition which will fund zero-emission port equipment and infrastructure to reduce mobile source emissions at U.S. ports AND the Climate and Air Quality Planning Competition to fund climate and air quality planning activities at U.S. ports including emissions inventories, strategy analysis, community engagement, and resiliency measure identification.
Applications are due May 28th, 2024. Learn more online.
EPA Funding Available for Community Air Quality Information Analysis Initiatives
As part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, The EPA is seeking applications proposing community-engaged research to advance the use and communication of air pollution data for addressing community-identified air pollution concerns. Despite advancements in community air monitoring methodologies, challenges remain in accessing, analyzing, interpreting and then translating the data into information for the public that can be used to inform community actions.
Eligible research initiatives should develop practical methods for making sense of and effectively communicating community exposure data in underserved communities to facilitate greater public engagement with decision-makers and adequately address community-identified air pollution concerns associated with criteria air pollutants or hazardous air pollutants.
Solicitations are open until June 26th, 2024. Learn more online.
Call for Artists: "Communicating Climate Change Flood Risks in the Coastal Community"
DEP and the NJ Council on the Arts are announcing a funding opportunity for the 2024 Community-Based Art Grant Program to raise awareness and start a conversation about flooding related to climate change in our coastal areas through art installations. Past grantees include the Atlantic City Arts Foundation and Bayshore Center at Bivalve in Port Norris. DEP is accepting applications for funding at this time.
Applications are due at 5pm on April 29, 2024. Learn more online.
Applications Open for NJEDA's Atlantic City Food Security Pilot Program
The Atlantic City Food Security Grants Program is a pilot program awarding grants between $50,000 and $500,000 for projects to strengthen food access and food security in Atlantic City as a state designated Food Desert Community.
In this program, NJEDA will use $5.25 million funding from the American Rescue Plan State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund and general state funds to award grants to projects that can have an impact for Atlantic City residents’ ability to access fresh, affordable, healthy food in advance of the construction of a supermarket, while simultaneously benefitting employment by helping applicants expand or increase their activities.
Applications will be accepted until Wednesday, May 14, 2024, at 5:00 PM EST. Learn more online.
EPA Community Change Grants Program and Upcoming Webinars for Applicants
EPA Environmental and Climate Justice Program (ECJP) Community Change Grants program is NOW OPEN! The program is funding projects to address environmental and climate injustices for communities facing legacy pollution, climate change, and persistent disinvestment. In total, $2 Billion will be rewarded with $50 million reserved for U.S. territories.
Technical assistance on applications, with informational webinars on the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) and Community Change Technical Assistance.
Applications close on November 21, 2024. Initial award selections will occur in March 2024 – with the suggested deadline of February 23, 2024 – and the anticipated start for initial selections will be in May/June 2024. Learn more 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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