EPA Funds Environmental Outreach in Minority and low-income communities.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--October 18, 1996--U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 2 (EPA) has awarded Environmental Justice Grants totaling $299,660 to sixteen community-based organizations and local governments for outreach on environmental issues in minority and low-income communities throughout New Jersey and New York.

In making this year's awards, EPA focused on projects that emphasize pollution prevention and environmental threats to public health. Some of the projects the 1996 grants will fund include: a program to train farm workers about coliform water contamination; bilingual lead-poisoning workshops; leadership training for grass roots activists; a public school education program on recycling and other waste management issues, and community training on environmental `right-to-know' laws.

In announcing this year's grant recipients, EPA Regional Administrator Jeanne M. Fox said, "These grants give people in low-income and minority communities the training and the technical tools they need to help redress the disproportionate burden of pollution many of those communities shoulder."

Environmental Justice grants are awarded to non-profit community groups and service providers to educate residents of communities with predominantly low-income and/or minority populations regarding local environmental concerns. Such groups are eligible for awards of up to $20,000 for the year. The awards are made annually and organizations interested in learning more about the program are encouraged to contact EPA Region 2, Public Outreach Branch, 290 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.

The 1996 Environmental Justice grant recipients are:

NEW JERSEY:

-- Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolas

Glassboro, New Jersey 08028 $20,000

To continue the project started last year working with the community-at-large and the farm worker community to remedy farm-related contamination of water and protect the migrant-worker population in southern New Jersey.

-- Citizen Policy & Education Fund of New Jersey

Hackensack, New Jersey 07601 $20,000

To continue an outreach and education project recruiting parents of lead-poisoned children to attend regularly held bilingual (English and Spanish) lead poisoning educational workshops.

-- Greater Newark Conservancy $20,000

Newark, N.J. 07102

To assist with the coordination of Newark Environmental Coalition activities which will include two conferences and two smaller workshops to promote the awareness of urban environmental problems among residents of Newark and its outlying areas.

-- Isles, Inc. $20,000

Trenton, N.J. 08618

To facilitate communication among all parties affected by remediation and redevelopment of several brownfield sites in Trenton, N.J. and to educate citizens about environmental justice methods for including public participation of low income, minority residents in the clean-up of industrial sites.

NEW YORK

-- Bronx Community College/Research Foundation of CUNY $20,000

Bronx, New York 10453

To conduct a series of five workshops on the Community Right-to-Know Act, targeting leaders, support staff and clients of Bronx community based organizations, as well as BCC students involved in environmental issues.

-- City of Niagara Falls  $18,900

Niagara Falls, New York 14302

To empower residents of several distressed neighborhoods located in close proximity to industry and remediation projects with the necessary information that will allow them to participate more in the decision making on local environmental issues.

-- Bronx, Legal Services  $20,000

Bronx, New York

To address lead poisoning awareness and prevention through educational workshops and other outreach activities including inspection, testing, treatment, direct intervention, advocacy and negotiation.

-- Jamaica Neighborhood Based Alliance Coalition Inc. $20,000

Jamaica, Queens, N.Y. 11432

To identify gaps in the public participation process, encourage and motivate target area residents to become involved in environmental issues which affect them, and empower target area residents to participate in solving environmental problems in their community.

-- Citizens Committee of New York $20,000

New York, NY 10001

To expand and improve the activities of the Neighborhood Environmental Leadership Institute which will provide grassroots neighborhood leaders throughout the Bronx with skills, information and resources to effectively address environmental justice issues that impact quality of life in their communities.

-- Council on the Environment $17,000

New York, NY 10007

To continue the Greenpoint/Williamsburg Environmental Education Project which will target the middle and high school student audience and their teachers, and involve them directly in environmental projects. Students study local environmental justice issues, such as toxic substances, lead and water pollution, then determine on what level they can affect the situation and mount action through education or direct action.

-- City of Syracuse $18,760

Syracuse, N.Y. 13202

To hire a part-time Health Care Educator to assist the community-based organizations in educating residents about the hazards of lead-based paint and the proper methods to abate these hazards. The Health Care Educator will also develop a database to track individuals, disseminate educational materials, and assist in organizing workshops.

-- Hope Unlimited International Inc. $20,000

Bronx, N.Y. 10470

To teach risk reduction and pollution prevention and to motivate residents of Community District No. 3 (South Bronx) and Community District No. 12 (North Bronx) to be aware of the long-term physical effect of childhood lead poisoning.

-- Environmental Action Coalition $20,000

New York, N.Y. 10012

Through the East Harlem Waste Awareness project, to address the lack of recycling information and services for the communities in East Harlem by working with the Public Schools to educate parents, teachers and students about waste management issues and enable them to become actively involved in their community's waste management activities and policy making process.

-- CITIZENS ENVIRONMENT COALITION $20,000

Albany, New York 12210

To mail Healthy Schools brochures discussing school environment health and safety hazards -- such as toxic pesticides, lead and asbestos, radon and indoor air pollution -- with information on where to get additional resources, to existing parent and local environmental organizations, then track all follow-up requests for "resources guides" and other information.

-- AKWESASNE TASK FORCE ON THE ENVIRONMENT $20,000

Hogansburg, New York, 13655

To enable the Akwesasne to review medical records and develop a database that will determine the frequency of various diseases that may be caused by exposure to environmental toxicants.

-- BROOKLYN CENTER for the URBAN ENVIRONMENT $5,000

Brooklyn, New York, 11215

To motivate members of the "Gowanus Canal neighborhood through education and workshops to be more conscious of the environmental justice issues associated with the Gowanus Canal and to stimulate involvement in projects and decision related to its cleanup.

CONTACT: EPA, New York

Doug Cordell, 212/637-3670