FY 2023 – FY 2024 Pollution Prevention Grants: Environmental Justice in Communities | EPA I OCSPP OPPT FY2023 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for EPA I OCSPP OPPT FY2023 001

The FY 2023 to FY 2024 Pollution Prevention Grants: Environmental Justice in Communities opportunity is a two-year, competitive EPA funding program created under the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 and supported with Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funding. It is designed to expand practical, on-the-ground pollution prevention (also called source reduction or "P2") support for businesses operating in disadvantaged communities, meaning communities that are marginalized, underserved, and disproportionately burdened by pollution. The core idea is to prevent pollution before it is created by helping businesses change processes, materials, and practices so they use fewer hazardous substances and generate less waste in the first place.

The program focuses on providing P2 technical assistance rather than direct regulatory enforcement or cleanup. That assistance can include sharing information, delivering trainings, and offering hands-on expert advice that helps facilities identify safer alternatives, reduce toxic chemical use, cut emissions and releases, and improve operational efficiency. EPA emphasizes that these prevention-based changes can produce both community benefits and business benefits: reduced exposure risks for residents and workers, improved local environmental conditions, and lower costs for companies through reduced raw material use, less waste management spending, and decreased liability and compliance burdens. Because harmful chemical exposures often concentrate in overburdened neighborhoods, EPA frames these grants as an environmental justice tool aimed at reducing risks where they are most acute.

The opportunity is also explicitly tied to the Biden Administration Justice40 Initiative. EPA positions these awards as part of a broader federal commitment to ensure that a substantial share of benefits from certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities, with Justice40 setting a goal of 40 percent. In practice, that means applicants are expected to target technical assistance and resulting pollution prevention outcomes in places that have historically received fewer environmental and economic benefits and have faced higher pollution impacts.

Eligible applicants are broad and include all fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and other U.S. territories and possessions. Eligibility also extends to agencies or instrumentalities of a state or tribe, which EPA notes can include colleges and universities, as well as federally recognized tribes and intertribal consortia. While partnerships are not mandatory, EPA strongly encourages applicants to build collaborations that improve their ability to deliver credible, effective P2 assistance to businesses in disadvantaged communities, such as partnerships among government programs, universities, tribal entities, or other technical assistance providers.

A notable required deliverable is knowledge-sharing through case studies. EPA requires each recipient to develop at least one pollution prevention case study during the grant period. These case studies must describe approaches that address environmental and human health concerns in disadvantaged communities, particularly when the approach is new, not widely known or not commonly adopted, or when detailed documentation would help others replicate the work. EPA intends to use submitted case studies to build a broader, shareable body of evidence about what works in community-focused pollution prevention, so that methods and lessons learned can spread beyond the initial project locations. Beyond case studies, EPA also encourages recipients to document and distribute results through other communication methods such as outreach materials, trainings, and videos, and it provides additional guidance for preparing case studies in Appendix B of the solicitation materials.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity (CFDA 66.708) offered through grants and cooperative agreements. The opportunity number is EPA-I-OCSPP-OPPT-FY2023-001. EPA anticipated making about 25 awards, with a maximum award amount (ceiling) of $1,200,000. The notice was created March 8, 2023, and the original application closing date was June 6, 2023.

• The Environmental Protection Agency in the environment, infrastructure investment and jobs act (iija) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 2023 – FY 2024 Pollution Prevention Grants: Environmental Justice in Communities" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 66.708.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 08, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 06, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,200,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 25 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for EPA I OCSPP OPPT FY2023 001

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