We’re excited to announce our support for eight organizations in coal-impacted communities across the nation for their applications to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants program. This program has three primary objectives designed to benefit distressed communities: reducing pollution, increasing climate resilience, and building community capacity. The EPA plans to make awards totaling approximately $2 billion through this program.
The Just Transition Fund proudly supported innovative, collaborative projects via the following organizations:
- Clay County Fiscal Court (Manchester, KY): Clay County’s proposal features water infrastructure enhancements that would make it possible for more Clay County residents to have access to safe drinking water. The application also includes plans for the construction of a multipurpose building that would act as a disaster relief site and community space.
- Clean Energy Economy for the Region (CLEER) (Carbondale, CO): Communities in Garfield County, CO face a transitioning economy compounded by climate risks including extreme heat and disproportionately high wildfire risk. In response, CLEER has proposed a set of strategies including tree planting, building upgrades, workforce development initiatives, and more to address these climate concerns while strengthening the local economy.
- Colorado Farm and Food Alliance (COFFA) (Paonia, CO): Centered around Colorado’s North Fork Valley region, COFFA’s proposed project features the establishment of a Community Resilience Network and the implementation of green infrastructure strategies focused on regenerative agriculture, watershed health, and firewise treatments.
- Cowan Community Action Group (Whitesburg, KY): In partnership with a local economic development agency, Cowan Community Action Group submitted two applications to the EPA to support Letcher County, KY. The proposed projects feature flood reduction and water quality efforts, emissions reductions, the establishment of disaster/resilience hubs, and more.
- Green Building Alliance (GBA) (Pittsburgh, PA): In partnership with numerous local collaborators, GBA served as a key partner on three EPA Community Change applications, and supported an additional three proposals. All six applications feature community-driven strategies to impact climate and economic outcomes in southwestern Pennsylvania.
- New Sun Rising (Millvale, PA): Focused on the river corridors of Allegheny and Beaver Counties in PA, New Sun Rising’s proposed project would establish a network of community-driven climate action centers that feature education and green workforce training and act as hubs for fostering green, circular local economies.
- Rural Action (The Plains, OH): Rural Action submitted two proposals to the EPA designed to benefit distressed areas of Appalachian Ohio: one focused on Meigs County and the other on southern Perry and northern Athens Counties. Both projects feature strategies to reduce pollution and greenhouse gases and to bolster sustainable economic development in the region.
- West Virginia Rivers Coalition (Charleston, WV): Through a two-pronged workforce development and climate action approach, WV Rivers Coalition and their partners have developed a project focused on training workers to identify and decommission orphaned and abandoned gas wells in Appalachia. The project would reduce methane emissions and create sustainable green jobs.
Through our Federal Access Center, we help coal communities overcome barriers to accessing federal funds – high matching requirements, time-intensive application processes – and leverage historic amounts of available funding to strengthen local economies. If you are working in a transitioning coal community and need assistance applying for federal funds, please fill out this brief inquiry form to get started.
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