OEJ Newsletter - September 26

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Announcements

Biden-Harris Administration Launches Environmental Justice Climate Corps

On September 25, EPA and AmeriCorps announced the Environmental Justice Climate Corps, a new partnership launched as part of President Biden’s American Climate Corps. The American Climate Corps—a workforce training and service initiative that will ensure more young people have access to the skills-based training necessary for good-paying careers in the clean energy and climate resilience economy. The Environmental Justice Climate Corps will extend the work of the Corps to both provide career opportunities in environmental justice fields for overburdened communities and help these same communities access and benefit from historic funding secured under the Biden Administration. Applications for the Environmental Justice Climate Corps will open in early 2025, with a goal for its first cohort to start later that year. Learn more online. 

EPA $1 Million Brownfields Cleanup Grant to Revitalize Contaminated Sites in Woodbine

On September 17th, the EPA, along with the NJDEP and the Borough of Woodbine, celebrated the selection of Woodbine to receive a $1 million grant for the cleanup of several contaminated sites. The event, held at a Municipal Water Plant at Adams Ave. and Longfellow St., highlighted the transformative impact of this funding on the community. The grant is part of the EPA’s ongoing efforts to support economically stressed communities in New Jersey and across the nation. The Brownfields Program provides essential resources to clean up and redevelop contaminated properties, attracting jobs, promoting economic revitalization, and creating sustainable, environmentally just neighborhoods in historically overburdened communities. Learn more online. 

NJDEP Advises Residents to Respond to Notices from Water Systems Working to Identify Unknown Lead Service Lines

As of September 12th, NJDEP is advising residential and business owners across the state to respond to letters that they may receive in the mail in the coming weeks indicating that their water system has not been able to determine the materials used in service lines to their properties. The campaign is part of ongoing state and federal efforts to protect public health through the identification and replacement of lead and galvanized water service lines in New Jersey. Learn more online. 

NJBPU Awarded $156 Million through Solar for All Grant 

On September 5th, representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency gathered in Edison, NJ to award the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities $156 million under the Solar for All Program. Designed to address major barriers that have prevented equitable adoption of solar energy by low-income and disadvantaged households, the Solar for All Program will use these funds to support the development of residential solar, multi-family housing solar and storage, residential-serving community solar, and technical assistance and workforce development. The program will facilitate lower energy costs for families, create good-quality jobs in underserved communities, and advance efforts to reduce energy emissions statewide. Learn more online. 

EPA Finalizes Policy for Meaningful Engagement and Public Participation in Agency Decision-Making Processes

On September 5, the Environmental Protection Agency announced the release of the final Achieving Health and Environmental Protection Through EPA’s Meaningful Engagement Policy. The new policy outlines updates on how the agency intends to engage with the public and provide meaningful public participation opportunities in all of its programs and regions. It provides specific steps to help EPA staff design appropriate and effective processes for meaningful engagement and public participation for particular action scenarios and decision contexts. More information is available online.

Murphy Administration Enacts Legislation to Incentivize Conversion of Brownfields into Solar Project Sites 

On September 4th, Governor Murphy signed new legislation enhancing the Historic Property Reinvestment Program and the Brownfields Redevelopment Incentive Program. The bill reinforces legal supports for historic preservation and further incentivizes the redevelopment of NJ brownfields into new solar energy facilities. Murphy also announced the launch of the new Landfill to Solar website, which serves as a one-stop shop to guide municipalities and solar developers as they plan, fund, and complete solar plus landfill capping projects. This guidance extends the Administration's whole-of-government approach to reducing emissions, developing clean energy, growing economic development, increasing affordability, and revitalizing environmental justice communities. Learn more online.

NJDEP Urges EPA to Designate PFAS as Hazardous Air Pollutants

On August 29th, NJDEP and two other state environmental agencies jointly submitted a petition to the Environmental Protection Agency to add four specific PFAS "forever chemicals" to the list of Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) under the Clean Air Act. PFAS air emissions have been found to affect surface water, groundwater and soil, and result in the contamination of public and private drinking water sources. The petition presents sufficient evidence that PFAS are air pollutants and are causing adverse effects to human health and the environment, particularly in overburdened communities. The petition argues that a Hazardous Air Pollutant designation for each specified PFAS type would enable necessary emission controls to better protect public health and the environment. Learn more online. 

Participation Opportunities 

Upcoming Environmental Justice Law Public Hearings

October 22- Sunoco Linden Terminal Title V Renewal, AO-25 (virtual)

October 23- Diversified Global Graphics Group Title V Renewa1, AO-25 (virtual)

October 24- CMC Steel Title V Renewal, AO-25 (virtual)

Due to a scheduling conflict with another community event, the Reworld Union AO-25 Public Hearing originally scheduled for September 19 will be held on a new date that will be announced soon.

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

Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission Comment Period and Public Hearing

NJDEP is seeking public comment on its intent to approve an Air Pollution Control Operating Permit for a Title V Significant Modification for Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission in Newark, NJ. 

A public hearing will be held on October 1, 2024, at 5:30 PM at the Sport Club Portuguese, 55 Prospect Street, Newark, NJ 07105. A virtual attendance option is available via Zoom. Public comments on the draft permit are due by 5pm on October 29th, 2024, and can be submitted by mail or email to Kevin Greener at Kevin.Greener@dep.nj.gov. 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.

NJUCF Green Communities Grant Program

The New Jersey Urban and Community Forestry Program (NJUCF) Green Communities Grant is now accepting applications! The program aims to assist local governments in the development of a Community Forestry Management Plan (CFMP) and conduct an inventory as the basis of this plan. A CFMP is a document for action, guiding communities to establish and maintain healthy, safe, and sustainable urban and community forests. Applications will be accepted on on a rolling basis for those municipalities and counties developing a Community Forestry Management Plan. The maximum awarded amount is $5,000 for a CFMP alone or $20,000 for CFMP and inventory. Learn more online.

NEW TCTAC TRAINING: Federal Accountability and Environmental Justice Obligations

Join the EPA Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center on October 16th, 2024 for the second session in their six-part training series, presented by NYU Institute for Policy Integrity, focusing on providing Environmental Justice communities with the tools to effectively engage with government at all levels. This training focuses on how Environmental Justice is considered in the regulatory processes across federal agencies and ways that communities can engage the process. Participants will learn how rules and regulations are created by different agencies to protect the environment, public health, and public welfare. Learn more online. 

$117 Million in EPA Funding Available to Support Recycling Infrastructure 

Funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA has announced three grant opportunities totaling over $117 million now available through the Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Grant Program and the Consumer Recycling Education and Outreach Program. Two of the grants, administered through the SWIFR program, will support improvements to local waste management systems and infrastructure, one designated for Tribes and Intertribal Consortia and the other for municipal, county, and parish entities in nationwide with particular focus on overburdened communities. The third funding opportunity, administered through the Recycling Education and Outreach, will support projects that center food waste prevention as well as composting implementation and education.   

Applications for the Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Grant Program for Communities and the Consumer Recycling Education and Outreach Program are due December 20th, 2024.

Applications for the Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling Grants for Tribes and Intertribal Consortia are due by March 14th, 2024. More information is available online. 

Green Workforce Training Grant Applications Now Open!

NJEDA's Green Workforce Training Grant Challenge is a competitive funding opportunity that will award grants to launch or expand workforce development and skills training programs focused on strengthening and diversifying New Jersey’s green economy talent pipeline. A total of $7 million will be available through this program, with individual awards ranging from a minimum of $250,000 to a maximum of $1.5 million.

Priority will be given to applicants that propose initiatives supporting training and job access for residents of Overburdened Communities. Proposed initiatives must focus on one or two (but no more than two) of the following industries: offshore wind, other renewable energy technologies, green design and construction, environmental and green infrastructure, grid resilience, clean transportation, and energy efficiency.

Applications are due October 8th, 2024 by 5pm. Learn more online. 

Applications Now Open for the Rooting Resilience Program!

The Rooting Resilience Program, funded in part by the Inflation Reduction Act and the USDA Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program, will provide funding and technical assistance to community-based projects that build resilience and capacity for the planning and implementation of forestry projects. This opportunity is available for projects located in disadvantaged communities, including urban, suburban, and rural communities. Grants awarded will range from $75,000 to $200,000 over a 1–3-year period.

Applications are due October 23, 2024. More information is available online.