OEJ Newsletter - June 6th

Subscribe to EJ Law Notices by County: Did you know that you can receive notices to upcoming EJ Law application hearings in your area? Subscribe online and select the counties in which you'd like to stay up-to-date for hearings near you.

Announcements

DEP Launches Chill Out New Jersey

Following the launch of Heat Hub NJ, an online one-stop shop for understanding and mitigating the causes and health impacts of extreme heat in the state, the Interagency Council on Climate Resilience has developed the Chill Out NJ online application. A new addition to Heat Hub, Chill Out NJ is an interactive map designed to help communities with limited access to air conditioning locate cooling centers. The map directs users to a variety of nearby free- or low-cost public indoor spaces, like libraries, pools and senior centers, that provide relief from heat exposure. Learn more online. 

Governor Murphy and DEP Introduce First-in-Nation Suite of Reforms to Build Community Resilience to Coastal Flooding

As part of the New Jersey Protecting Against Climate Threats (NJ PACT) initiative, Govenor Murphy and NJDEP have jointly announced a forthcoming rule proposal intended to modernize a suite of DEP regulations to better protect New Jersey communities from coastal flooding, sea-level rise, and other public health and safety risks that are increasing due to climate change. Known collectively as REAL – Resilient Environments and Landscapes- reforms, the proposed rule would make NJ the first state to initiate a comprehensive update of land resource protection regulations to address the current and future impacts of a changing climate. The REAL reforms would amend New Jersey’s existing flood hazard, stormwater, coastal zone, and freshwater wetland regulations statewide to address these ongoing impacts, while improving water quality and flood protections and addressing issues that are of particular concern to overburdened communities.

DEP is hosting a series of webinars to share REAL proposal details with the public. Learn more online. 

Biden-Harris Administration Announces $3 Million in NJ Brownfield Grants

On May 20th, the EPA announced the selection of four NJ communities to receive grants totaling $3 million in competitive EPA Brownfields funding through the Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup (MAC) Grant programs. Many communities that are under economic stress, particularly those located in areas that have experienced long periods of disinvestment, lack the resources needed to initiate brownfield cleanup and redevelopment projects. Programs will help transform once-polluted, vacant, and abandoned properties in Camden, Red Bank, and Woodbine into community assets, while helping to create good jobs and spur economic revitalization in overburdened communities. Learn more online. 

Participation Opportunities 

Upcoming Environmental Justice Law Public Hearings

June 12- Gaeta Recycling- Paterson, Passaic County, EJ Rule (hybrid)

July 16- Kingsland Landfill- Lyndhurst, Bergen County, AO (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

2024 NJ Brownfields Summit

Join DEP in collaboration with NJIT Technical Assistance to Brownfield Communities (TAB) on Wednesday June 12th, 2024, for a Brownfield Redevelopment technical assistance event. 

New Jersey Brownfields Summit: Building Resilient Futures from Brownfields Past will discuss the redevelopment of Brownfield sites through the lens of resilience to climate change impacts. Municipalities, non-profits, environmental specialists, and developers looking to build capacity in brownfield redevelopment are encouraged to ask questions and connect with redevelopment experts.

This event will run from 8:30am to 12:30pm, followed by the Fasten FEMA Funding with TARP Lunch and Learn event which will review FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grants. Learn more online.

Healthy and Resilient Communities Research Webinar Series

EPA's Office of Research and Development invites you to join in their upcoming webinar, Cumulative Impacts: How Potential Flood Exposures, Resource Access, and Social Vulnerability Affect Resilience Outcomes on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Part of EPA's greater Healthy and Resilient Communities Research Webinar Series, this session will cover geospatial model development and model applications in cumulative impacts research.

The presentation will discuss the basic concepts and data that drive the models, as well as case studies that illustrate their utility in decision-making, goal setting and goal tracking. The research is grounded in environmental justice and resilience frameworks and is meant to connect local disparities to broader resilience outcomes, with a focus on delivering information at multiple geographic scales. Learn more online.

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.

Clean Bus Planning Awards Program Funding

Funded through the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has launched The Clean Bus Planning Awards (CBPA) program. The program aims to reduce barriers to zero-emission bus deployment by providing school and transit bus fleets with free technical assistance to develop and implement comprehensive, customized fleet electrification transition plans. Eligible parties include school districts, local governments, non-profits, and tribal nations providing bus transit services, with priority given to entities operating in tribal nations, rural areas, and disadvantaged communities. 

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Learn more online. 

Brownfields Job Training Funding Opportunity

EPA’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR) is soliciting applications from state and local governments, Tribes, and nonprofit organizations for Brownfields Job Training Grants funding. Funded programs will recruit, train, and provide local, unemployed and under-employed residents with the skills needed to secure full-time employment in the environmental field. These programs work to ensure that green jobs created by revitalization projects directly benefit local economies and enhance livelihoods of residents most affected by legacy contamination.

Applications are due August 15th, 2024, Learn more online. 

Workshop on How to Apply for Federal Grants for Environmental or Energy Projects in New Jersey

WE ACT's EPA Region 2 Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center (TCTAC) program is hosting a two-day grant writing training with Eagle TCTAC. The program works to engage and assist grassroots organizations in developing leadership capacities for Environmental and Energy Justice for EPA Region 2. In this workshop, participants will receive hands-on training to develop competitive grant proposals.

Date: Monday, June 17th and 18th, 2024, 8:30am to 4:30pm 

Location: New Jersey Institute of Technology, Central King Building Agile Strategy Lab, 323 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Newark, NJ.

Topics will include organizational preparation for federal grants, proposal planning, identification of financing opportunities, outline and work plan of the proposal, budget narrative, post-subsidy sustainability plan, federal forms, and certifications. Learn more online.