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U.S. EPA and Federal Partners Celebrate Four-Years of Partnership - $539 Million to Support Communities in the Pacific Southwest Region

Release Date: 06/17/2013
Contact Information: David Yogi, yogi.david@epa.gov, Ph: 415/972-3350

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), today released a summary of accomplishments under the Pacific Southwest Region’s Federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities program, an initiative managed by the three agencies to efficiently use multi-agency resources to meet economic, environmental, and community needs.

Since the program’s formation, over $539 million has been awarded to local agencies throughout California, Arizona, Nevada, and Hawaii to support projects ranging from assisting the Kayenta community on the Navajo Nation in Northern Arizona with development of a sustainable building code that meets tribal priorities, to creating a strategy for revitalizing 2,200 acres of land near the Los Angeles River.

“These investments help communities achieve important goals in livability, economic vitality and environmental stewardship,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “EPA is pleased to work with our federal partners to use our combined resources to make a difference for local residents.”

A Twitter town hall discussion with EPA Acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe, HUD Deputy Secretary Maurice Jones, and DOT Deputy Secretary John Porcari will be held today at 1:30 pm (ET) in Washington, D.C. to coincide with the fourth anniversary of the program. Regional roundtable events will be held nationwide between June and September to engage stakeholders and receive feedback on how sustainable communities efforts are progressing.

Since the program’s inception in 2009, the partnership has provided over $3.5 billion in assistance to more than 700 communities nationwide, funding nearly 750 projects. Partnership grant and technical assistance recipients are located in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Demand for Partnership assistance far outstrips available resources.

For more information about the Twitter town hall event, visit: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/webcasts/schedule

To view a copy of the report, visit: http://www.sustainablecommunities.gov/pdf/PSW-sustainable-communities-report-lg.pdf

For more information on the Partnership for Sustainable Communities, including forthcoming regional roundtable discussions, visit: http://www.sustainablecommunities.gov/

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