EPA Announces $135,000 Pollution Prevention Grant to Central Michigan University
(CHICAGO – September 8, 2022) Today, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a $135,212 pollution prevention, or P2, grant to Central Michigan University. This is one of the 39 national grants made possible by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s historic $100 million program investment. These grants are intended to help states and Tribes, or in this instance academic institutions, provide businesses with technical assistance to help them implement P2 practices to prevent or reduce pollution before it is even created, while also reducing business and liability costs.
“Reducing pollution at the source, before it ever even enters the waste stream, is the best and most cost-effective way to protect the environment,” said EPA Regional Administrator Debra Shore. “Thanks to these grants, and increased funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, EPA is working with organizations like Central Michigan University to empower communities and businesses to save money and safeguard precious natural resources.”
Central Michigan University will use the grant to offer pollution prevention technical assistance and training to automotive manufacturing businesses in underserved communities in Central Michigan. The university will also host a roundtable discussion with local community members and businesses on sustainability and pollution prevention to raise awareness.
“In spite of its potential contributions to the resource efficiency, sustainability and climate change mitigation efforts, pollution prevention (P2) practices are not widely known and adopted in the Central Michigan region,” said Goksel Demirer, director of the CMU School of Engineering and Technology. “The objective of this project is to help businesses in the automotive manufacturing sector improve their competitiveness through P2 practices. To this purpose, on-site P2 technical assistance will be provided to selected businesses located in underserved communities in Central Michigan. Moreover, a training (business sustainability through P2) and a roundtable (community based P2) will be organized.”
Selected and awarded grantees will document and share P2 best practices they identify and develop through these grants so that others can replicate the practices and outcomes. Each selected grantee will address at least one of the National Emphasis Areas, which were established to focus resources and to create opportunities for information sharing among P2 grantees and businesses. Each selected grantee will also develop at least one case study during the grant period on P2 practices.
Read more about P2 and the P2 Grant Program.