For Immediate Release
April 18, 2023
New Orleans, LA – The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) is pleased to announce that it has been selected as an Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center (EJ TCTAC), by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy. The Center will receive a $10 million grant as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda which includes investments to advance environmental justice.
As an EJ TCTAC, DSCEJ will help remove barriers and improve accessibility to federal resources for communities to address environmental justice issues. To help communities effectively manage grant funding, the Center will provide training, guidance, and other assistance on how to navigate federal grant application systems and how to write strong grant proposals. Additionally, EJ TCTACs will provide guidance on community engagement and meeting facilitation, including translation and interpretation services for limited English-speaking participants. Each technical assistance center will also create and manage communication channels to ensure all communities have direct access to resources and information.
“We are thrilled to receive this grant and to be selected as one of only 17 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers in the country by the EPA and the Department of Energy,” said Dr. Beverly Wright, Executive Director of DSCEJ. “President Biden’s historic investments in environmental justice are a result of decades of advocacy by communities like ours in the Deep South and across the country. We are proud to be part of this effort, and look forward to helping break down these barriers to help our communities access the federal resources available to them so our children can grow up in an environment free from the dangers of pollution.”
The full list of Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers includes:
- University of Connecticut
- West Harlem Environmental Action, Inc.
- Inter-American University of Puerto Rico-Metro Campus
- National Wildlife Federation
- Deep South Center for Environmental Justice
- Research Triangle Institute
- Blacks in Green
- University of Minnesota
- New Mexico State University
- Wichita State University
- University of Arizona
- San Diego State University
- Willamette Partnership
- University of Washington
In addition, EPA has selected three national EJ TCTACs that will provide additional assistance across the country, with particular capacity to assist Tribes, including:
International City/County Management Association
Institute for Sustainable Communities
National Indian Health Board
###
About the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice
Families in the Gulf Coast deserve to live in communities that are free from deadly air and are more resilient to climate change and extreme weather. The Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) works to empower and engage communities to put environmental justice and equity at the center of all climate action. Led by environmental justice scholar and advocate, author, civic leader and professor of Sociology Dr. Beverly L. Wright, the DSCEJ uses research, education, and community and student engagement to advocate for policy change, lead health and safety training for environmental careers, develop social and emotional community wellness programs, and create new and environmentally healthy opportunities for the residents of communities disproportionately impacted by historic environmental injustice.
