For Release: Monday, December 3, 2007
Environmental Justice Grants for Communities in New York, Albany, and Erie Counties
More than $70,000 Awarded for Community Projects
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis today announced funding for a rooftop garden in Albany, a water-quality monitoring effort in Manhattan and a grassroots air-quality monitoring project in Tonawanda, in the latest round of environmental grants to groups serving minority and low-income communities.
The funding comes from the Environmental Justice Community Impact Research Grant (EJ Grant) program. Launched in 2006, the program helps local organizations with projects that address environmental and/or public health concerns. The program concentrates on communities that have historically been overburdened by problems such as a high density of contaminated sites, noise, air and water pollution, health problems and lack of green space and waterfront access.
"The EJ Grant program is a valuable tool for the Department and for community groups that serve as environmental stewards in their neighborhoods across the state," Grannis said. "Fostering grassroots efforts, these grants can help groups provide a cleaner and healthier environment for their communities."
Today's announcement includes more than $70,000 for three community projects designed to address multiple environmental harms and risks in the community:
Clean Air Coalition of Western New York - Erie County - $24,000 - for a project called "Researching the Potential Link Between Air Pollution from Numerous Point and Mobile Sources on Community Exposure and Health." The coalition intends to investigate the potential link between negative health impacts and air pollution from numerous point and mobile sources in the Town of Tonawanda's mixed industrial and residential zone, an area that includes a gasoline storage facility and coal-fired power plant among other sources. Research methods will include the use of personal air monitoring badges on resident volunteers, bucket air samplers, and a network of volunteers to track odors and acute health effects from suspected air emission sources. This project will support and widen the research scope of a currently funded DEC air toxics study.
North River Community Environmental Review Board, Inc. (NRCERB) - New York County - $22,767. The board monitors water quality at the North River Water Pollution Control Plant in West Harlem in conjunction with the DEC and New York City Department of Environmental Protection and reports findings to the local community in bi-monthly caucuses. The EJ Grant will provide funding to support NRCERB's ongoing monitoring and community education work in this area.
Social Justice Center - Albany County - $25,000 - for a project called "Mitigating Multiple Harms: A Green Roof for the Social Justice Center." This project focuses on short-term mitigation of poor air quality near the convergence of Washington and Central avenues by designing and installing a "green roof" on all or part of the 800 square foot roof of the Center's facility. The green roof is comprised of a rooftop garden of grasses and other plants that can absorb ozone and diesel fuel particulates in a heavily trafficked area.
The EJ Grants program, which was created with input from the DEC Environmental Justice Advisory Group, helps communities understand and mitigate environmental harms and risks and improve quality of life. For a complete list of the members of the Environmental Justice Advisory Group, visit the DEC website at www.dec.ny.gov .
Projects eligible to receive EJ Grants include, but are not limited to: inventories of polluting facilities in the community; air monitoring; green rooftops; urban tree planting; community gardens; alternative energy projects; and lead and mercury removal projects. To date, grant applications have ranged from $2,500 to the maximum grant award of $25,000. However, the next grant cycle will include maximum grant awards of $50,000.
