News Releases from Region 03

EPA Awards Grant to Baltimore Group For Cleanup Project and Community Engagement

PHILADELPHIA (October 30, 2017) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced an Environmental Justice Small Grant award of $30,000 to the Patapsco Latino Action Network (PLAN), a program of the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland. 

EPA’s Environmental Justice Small Grants program provides funding for non-profit and tribal organizations to partner with stakeholders in industry, government, and academia.

PLAN will use this funding to help clean up marine debris in Baltimore neighborhoods around the Brooklyn and Curtis Bay communities.  Project partners include The Templo de Ablanza y Restauracion (TAYR) congregation, the Maryland Port Administration, the Living Classrooms Foundation, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

The group will organize cleanups and neighborhood beautification events, survey community members on their perception of marine debris, develop Spanish-language outreach materials, and conduct educational outreach.  The group will also develop a marine debris mitigation action plan.

EPA’s Environmental Justice Small Grants Program is designed to help communities understand and address exposure to multiple environmental harms and risks, and funds projects up to $30,000 a year.

More information about EPA’s Environmental Justice Small Grants Program:

https://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice/environmental-justice-small-grants-program.