The summary and links below provide a description and documentation of a Pueblo, Colorado project that received a Level I Cooperative Agreement from EPA’s former Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) Program in 2006, and a Level II CARE Cooperative Agreement in 2009. These case studies serve as historic references and conditions since the project was funded may have changed.

The resources developed for this project provide communities with information about ways that other communities have addressed environmental issues. Communities can use these project results to reduce environmental impacts, understand risks and become stewards of their own environment.

Summary

Citizens for Clean Air in Pueblo (CCAP) (2006)
Pueblo, Colorado
EPA Region 8

Citizens for Clean Air in Pueblo (CCAP) is the recipient of a Level I CARE Cooperative Agreement with the EPA.  Since its founding in 2000, CCAP's broadly-based membership has worked hard to advocate for high standards of air and water quality in Pueblo and Southern Colorado, to inform the public of impacts to air and water quality of existing and proposed enterprises, and to promote informed decision-making on environmental policies in the community.  With an economy historically based on heavy industry, Pueblo’s citizens bear a large portion of Colorado’s output of lead, mercury, and other toxic pollutants. Pueblo’s industrial-area neighborhoods, largely minority and low income, lie adjacent to a steel mill, and an aging coal-fired power plant.  These two facilities collectively emit a high percentage of the state’s output of airborne toxic substances. Fountain Creek, which runs through Pueblo, ocassionally carries tens of thousands of pounds of raw sewage, periodically released from a city upstream. CCAP recently completed a two-year project to map hazardous waste sources in Pueblo with Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) funds from the Rocky Mountain Steel Mill. The partnership formed for the CARE project, which includes a cross-section of the community, will develop an inventory of toxic exposures to Pueblo’s citizens and determine which of these should be at the head of the priority list for immediate reduction. 

Prospective CARE Partners:  Citizens for Clean Air and Water in Pueblo/Southern Colorado, Pueblo City-County Health Department, Bechtel Corporation’s Pueblo Team, Rivers Run Development Co., Bessemer Association for Neighborhood Development (BAND), Salt Creek Neighborhood SPIN Project, East Side Neighborhood Association, Christ Congregational Church/Committee for Social Justice, The Office of Social Justice for the Diocese of Pueblo, and Pueblo Recycles.

Citizens for Clean Air in Pueblo for Education, Research, Action Pueblo Area Clean Indoor Air Initiative (2009)
Pueblo, Colorado 
Region 8

Citizens for Clean Air in Pueblo (CCAP), a successful CARE Level I recipient in 2006, has now received a CARE Level II Cooperative Agreement grant for their Pueblo Area Clean Indoor Air Initiative. CCAP is a non-profit organization working to improve the quality of life in Pueblo and Southern Colorado by promoting a healthy and sustainable environment through education, research, and action. The community served by CCAP is comprised of both urban and rural populations, with a high proportion of the individuals living at 23% below the poverty level. The neighborhoods of Salt Creek, Besseme, and Eastside surround the city’s largest industrial plants. These neighborhoods are among the lowest income and highest minority populated communities within the county. This project will focus on indoor air quality, radon reduction, and other pollutants (e.g., hazardous household waste, lead, mold, indoor smoke, and carbon monoxide). 

Established CARE Partners: Pueblo City County Health Department, Bessemer Association for Neighborhood Development (BAND), East Side Neighborhood Association, Eastwood Heights Neighborhood Association, Peppersauce Bottoms Neighborhoods, Salt Creek SPIN Project, Neighborhood Pride, Diocese of Pueblo, Christ Congressional Church/Social Justice, Pueblo Recycles, Fountain Creek Water Sentinels, Pueblo Access for All, The Rye Are Wildfire Education and Mitigation Association, Pueblo County Commissioners, Pueblo West Metro District, Better Pueblo, Catholic Charities Center for Immigration and Community Integration, and Beulah Mountain Park Environmental Center.   

• Final Report: Citizens for Clean Air in Pueblo (PDF)(124 pp, 4 MB, 2009)