An official website of the United States government.

News Releases from Region 01

EPA Community Grants Available to Protect Public Health and the Environment in New England

04/10/2019
Contact Information: 
David Deegan (deegan.dave@epa.gov)
(617) 918-1017

BOSTON – The US Environmental Protection Agency is making grants available for New England communities to support EPA's "Back-to-Basics" agenda to reduce environmental risks, protect and improve human health and improve the quality of life.

EPA New England's Healthy Communities Grant Program is accepting applications for projects that will benefit one or more New England communities. EPA plans to award about 10 cooperative agreements, for a total of approximately $250,000 under this funding opportunity. The deadline to submit applications is May 28.

"EPA is very pleased to continue to make funding available for New England organizations to address local environmental health concerns in their communities," said EPA New England Acting Regional Administrator Deborah Szaro. "These projects can make a real difference protecting human health and the environment, and they are a great example of cooperative federalism in action."

The Healthy Communities Grant Program will identify and fund projects that can make positive differences by focusing on target "Back-to-Basics" investment areas. Eligible projects under this program must be located in or directly impact one or more of the three "target investment areas" (areas needing to create community resilience; environmental justice areas of potential concern; or sensitive populations), and identify how the proposed project will achieve measurable environmental or public health results in one or more of the four "target program areas" (clean, green, and healthy schools; community and water infrastructure resilience; healthy indoor environments; or healthy outdoor environments).

Full descriptions of the target investment and target program areas can be found in the 2019 Healthy Communities Grant Program Request for Applications.

Eligible applicants include:

  • state and local governments,
  • public nonprofit institutions or organizations,
  • private nonprofit institutions or organizations,
  • quasi-public nonprofit institutions or organizations,
  • federally recognized Indian Tribal Governments,
  • K-12 schools or school districts, and
  • non-profit organizations, such as grassroots and community-based organizations.

Funding will be considered for a college or university to support a project with substantial community or tribal involvement.

More information:

  • To help answer questions from prospective applicants, the Healthy Communities Grant Program will host four webinars before the applications are due. The information sessions are being offered May 1, 7, 9 and 15. These information sessions are optional, but RSVPs are required. A registration form can be found in the Request for Applications.

  • 2019 New England Healthy Communities Grant Program Request for Applications: https://www3.epa.gov/region1/eco/uep/grants_2019hc.html

  • Additional background on EPA's New England Healthy Community Grants: https://www3.epa.gov/region1/eco/uep/hcgp.html