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EPA Accepting Grant Proposals to Support Communities

Release Date: 12/20/2007
Contact Information: Kathleen L. Fenton, (913) 551-7874, [email protected]

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Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., Dec. 20, 2007) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7, is announcing EPA's national grant competition through the Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) program. EPA Headquarters is currently accepting proposals to support community-based partnerships to reduce pollution at the local level. About $3 million will be available nationally in 2008.

Proposals are due to EPA Headquarters by March 17, 2008. EPA will conduct three conference calls on Jan. 18, Feb. 11, and Feb. 27, 2008, for prospective applicants to ask questions about the application process.

CARE is a competitive grant program that offers an innovative way for communities to organize and take action to reduce toxic pollution in their air, land and water.

The CARE program helps communities address risk comprehensively through technical assistance and resources. As communities create local stakeholder groups that successfully reduce risks from numerous sources, CARE helps them build the long-term capacity to understand and address toxic pollution in their environment. CARE projects are created to be cooperative agreements and partnerships between grantees and EPA.

The following entities are eligible to apply:

• Local, public nonprofit institutions and organizations
• Federally recognized Indian tribal governments
• Native American organizations
• Private nonprofit institutions and organizations
• Colleges and universities
• Quasi-public nonprofit institutions and organizations (both interstate and intrastate)

State governments or their agencies are not eligible to apply. EPA hopes to work with state agencies as partners to support CARE communities, where appropriate.

The 2008 Request for Proposal was announced December 18, 2007, and can be found at www.epa.gov/care. In 2007, $3.4 million in cooperative agreements were made available to more than 20 communities through the CARE program. Examples of projects include addressing abandoned, contaminated industrial and residential properties in Gary, Ind.; dealing with agriculture-related toxics in Yakima County, Wash.; and reducing air emissions from diesel trucks and buses in Woonsocket, R.I. Since 2005, CARE grants to reduce toxics in the environment have reached nearly 50 communities in more than 20 states.