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EPA “CARES” About Trenton; Grant to Help the City Go Green

Release Date: 11/13/2008
Contact Information: Jennifer May (212) 637-3658, may.jennifer@epa.gov

(Trenton, N.J.) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today awarded a Community Action for a Renewed Environment or CARE grant to the city of Trenton to help it leverage its own efforts to go green. Through this $100,000 grant, Trenton will explore sources of pollutants that include air water and solid waste, and other environmental areas of concern. The CARE program empowers communities to address local environmental issues.

The CARE grant will build on the Trenton Green Initiative. The city formed this community-based project to identify and prioritize environmental issues and concerns. From its findings, the participants developed a “Green Plan” to reduce the city’s carbon footprint. The $100,000 grant from EPA will give Trenton a jump-start in implementing its environmental plans.

“Trenton and Mayor Palmer have a lot to be proud of – particularly on the environmental front,” said EPA Regional Administrator Alan Steinberg. “The implementation of this grant will be a community-wide effort in which Mayor Palmer and the people of Trenton will all pitch in to improve their local environment.”

Trenton was a major manufacturing center during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and has been impacted by the legacy of industrial operations. The city’s ground water and soil are now contaminated with metals and inorganic chemicals. Using the CARE funds, Trenton and its partners will help communities to understand and assess all potential sources of exposure to pollutants and develop solutions for these environmental issues. Through the larger framework of Trenton’s “Green Plan”, members of the community will also realize how environmental issues impact their everyday lives. Stakeholders in this partnership will include community organizations and residents, business, government officials and other partners.

EPA’s CARE program is a competitive, nationwide grant program that educates and supports communities by helping them to assess pollution risks they face, and develop and implement solutions. CARE has been providing financial assistance to communities annually across the country since 2005 and expects to award nearly $3 million in 2008. The goals of the CARE program are to reduce community exposure to pollutants through education and resources. The program aims to create self-sustaining, community-based partnerships that will continue to improve the local environment, even after the grant projects are completed.

For more information, visit EPA’s Web site at: https://www.epa.gov/CARE

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