Biden-Harris Administration Selects California Entities to Receive Over $1.5 Million in Pollution Prevention Grants to Advance Environmental Justice
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SAN FRANCISCO – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the California Department of Public Health and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have been selected to receive a total of $1,576,636 in pollution prevention grants through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. EPA has selected these two entities to receive the funding, which was made possible by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to develop and adopt practices that prevent pollution at the source in local communities.
“These grants will improve public health and reduce exposure to potentially harmful pollutants in disadvantaged communities across California,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “EPA is proud to support projects like these that prevent pollution at the source and advance environmental justice.”
Dr. Kevin Riley PhD, MPH, Director, UCLA Labor Occupational Safety & Health Program said: “Women of color who work in hair and nail salons face well documented increased health risks from exposure to harmful chemicals in the products they use. This project builds on existing Labor Occupational Safety & Health partnerships with two community-based organizations—the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative (CHNSC) and Black Women for Wellness (BWW)—to train workers and owners in California on chemical hazards in beauty products and to support the adoption of safer alternatives. We’re excited about the model of community-led pollution prevention and environmental stewardship that this project will help to promote, and we hope it can serve as a roadmap for other communities.”
Information on the grants:
California Department of Public Health ($776,636): The California Department of Public Health’s proposed project will provide technical assistance to 111 general aviation airports in California located in disadvantaged communities to support the transition from leaded aviation gasoline (avgas) to unleaded avgas. Technical assistance will include business roundtable discussions, training, and developing educational materials and case studies. The proposed project will improve human health and the environment in disadvantaged communities by reducing harmful lead emissions in communities where residents are exposed to excessive ozone levels, fine particulate matter, toxic releases, lead from housing, and other pollution sources identified through CalEnviroScreen.
The Regents of the University of California, Los Angeles ($800,000): The UCLA Labor Occupational Safety and Health Program will partner with the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative and Black Women for Wellness to provide technical assistance to nail and hair salons to promote the adoption of safer products, P2, and overall environmental stewardship. Technical assistance will include outreach and training, environmental sampling, and pilot projects that track safer product use and impacts over time. The proposed project will improve human health and the environment in disadvantaged communities by lowering workers’ exposure to chemicals linked to chronic and acute illnesses, respiratory and skin issues, memory loss, cancer, and reproductive harm in California nail salons that are primarily owned and operated by Vietnamese migrants, and in hair salons that are primarily owned and operated by Black individuals.
The Environmental Justice in Communities grant program will provide pollution prevention technical assistance to businesses to improve human health and the environment in disadvantaged communities. The Environmental Justice Through Safer and More Sustainable Products grant program will assist businesses to increase the supply, demand, and use of safer and more sustainable products, such as those certified by EPA’s Safer Choice program, or that conform to EPA’s Recommendations for Specifications, Standards and Ecolabels for Federal Purchasing.
EPA’s Pollution Prevention Grant Program advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
Ensuring greater availability and use of safer and more sustainable products can reduce harmful chemical exposures and their human health and the environmental impacts in disadvantaged communities and create a more sustainable and accessible marketplace. These efforts will continue to benefit businesses and communities across the nation by capturing what works and what can be adjusted in other communities. Recipients will share successful practices that are new or not widely known, as well as lessons learned, so that future businesses and communities can continue to innovate.
EPA anticipates awarding the grants once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied.
Background:
The United States generates millions of tons of pollution each year and spends billions of dollars per year controlling this pollution. Once in our environment, this pollution harms human and environmental health, which disproportionally impacts underserved communities. Preventing pollution at the source, also known as P2 or source reduction, rather than managing waste after it is produced, is an important part of the solution landscape, and advances a sustainable infrastructure that supports local economies while better protecting public health and the environment. P2 practices can reduce exposure to toxic chemicals, conserve natural resources, and reduce cleanup and financial costs for businesses, particularly for waste management and environmental liability. Practicing P2 is essential for protecting public health and improving environmental conditions in and around disadvantaged communities that have long been overburdened by pollution.
Between 2011-2021, EPA’s Pollution Prevention program has issued nearly 500 grants totaling more than $50 million, which have helped businesses identify, develop and adopt P2 approaches. These approaches have resulted in eliminating 19.8 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, saving 49 billion gallons of water, reducing 917 million pounds of hazardous materials and pollutants, and saving more than $2.2 billion for business.
President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure is boosting these efforts by providing a historic $100 million to support the program’s continued efforts. Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, state and Tribal programs that are awarded grants will not be required to provide matching funds, which has helped expand access to these resources and broadened the applicant pool.
Read more about P2 and the P2 Grant Program.
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