CalEPA Launches New Environmental Justice Action Grants Program

The California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) has announced the launch of its Environmental Justice Action Grants Program. This program provides funding to tribes and community-based organizations for projects that address California’s environmental justice concerns.

What the New Environmental Justice Grants Support

The grants can be used to fund a wide range of projects, including:

• Water education, outreach, and advocacy

• Engagement with the Water Boards on basin plan updates, policy development, and programs

• Building coalitions to address water pollution within a watershed

• Community science initiatives such as water testing, data collection, monitoring, and mapping

• Development and distribution of subsistence fish consumption surveys

• Tribal Beneficial Use designation efforts

• Funding tribal staff to engage with Water Board staff in consultations, meetings, and working groups

• Hiring tribal legal counsel, scientific staff, or toxicologists

• Development and distribution of tribal cultural and subsistence surveys

• Education and outreach activities

• Transcription of oral histories

• Collection and documentation of traditional ecological knowledge

• Water quality testing and monitoring

• Flood preparedness, emergency response, and climate resilience planning

The grants are open to federally recognized tribes and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. Applicants may apply for multiple grants, but CalEPA will not award more than $300,000 per project or $500,000 per applicant per fiscal year. Grants can be awarded for projects lasting up to 24 months.

Important Dates and Timelines

• August 29, 2023: Solicitation Release

• September 19, 2023: Virtual Application Workshop

• Early October 2023: Anticipated Notice of Proposed Award Posting Date

• October 13, 2023: Deadline for Submitting Applications by 5:00 pm PDT

• Early November 2023: Anticipated Notice of Proposed Award Posting Date

The final deadline to apply is October 31, 2023. For more information, please visit the CalEPA website.