Environmental Protection Agency awards $770,000 to Idaho environmental justice projects

The Environmental Protection Agency this week gave two Idaho organizations a combined $770,000 to fulfill projects promoting environmental justice.

The grants are from the agency’s environmental justice program, which provides financial assistance to organizations working to address local environmental or public health issues in their communities. 

The Idaho organizations who received grants include: 

• TerraGraphics International Foundation, Duck Valley Indian Reservation: The project is receiving $435,000 to adapt the National Incident Management System for emergency response to achieve input on mining. 
• Upper Snake River Tribes Foundation, Boise: The project is receiving $335,000 for its Tribal Youth Environmental Justice and Climate Leadership Program. 

The grants are meant to keep with the federal government’s Justice40 Initiative to deliver 40% of the overall benefits of federal investments to communities that are marginalized, underserved and overburdened by pollution.

“Across the Pacific Northwest our communities can see and feel the impacts of legacy pollution and climate change in their day-to-day lives,” Environmental Protection Agency region 10 administrator Casey Sixkiller said in a press release. “These funds are an opportunity for historically underserved areas to advance community driven solutions that improve public health and the environment.”