EPA Ports Initiative Newsletter

January 23, 2022 

Newsletter Items:

• Reminder: Submit Input on the Inflation Reduction Act’s Clean Ports Program 
• EPA Environmental Justice Grant Opportunities Now Open 
• Just Released: The U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization   
• Tomorrow Jan 24th: Locomotive Agenda Item on EPA National EJ Community Engagement Call  
• FY 2023 DOT Ports Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) – Full NOFO Coming Soon 

EPA is still collecting feedback on how to design the Clean Ports program created through the Inflation Reduction Act! To ensure your ideas are considered, please email: [email protected]. 

To view the recordings and slides of the Inflation Reduction Act’s Clean Ports program, visit the Events Related to the EPA Ports Initiative webpage. 

The Environmental Justice Government-to-Government (EJG2G) Program  

State and local governments – including public port authorities – and tribes can now apply for funding from the EJG2G Program (formerly known as the State Environmental Justice Cooperative Agreement program). The EJG2G Program works to support and/or create model government activities that lead to measurable environmental or public health results in communities disproportionately burdened by environmental harms and risks. These models should leverage or utilize existing resources or assets of agencies to develop key tools and processes that integrate environmental justice considerations into governments and government programs at all levels. 

Of the approximately $70 million in available funding, $20 million will be for state governments to be used in conjunction with Community-Based Organization (CBO) partners, $20 million will be for local government with CBO partners, $20 million will be for Federally Recognized Tribal Nations with CBO partners, and $10 million will be for U.S. territories and remote tribes with limited access to CBO partners. In total the Agency anticipates funding approximately 70 projects of up to $1 million each for a 3-year project.  

The Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Program (EJCPS) Cooperative Agreement Program 

Near-port community organizations and other eligible entities can now apply for funding from EPA’s EJCPS Cooperative Agreement Program, which provides financial assistance to eligible organizations working on or planning to work on projects to address local environmental and/or public health issues in their communities. The program assists recipients in building collaborative partnerships with other stakeholders (e.g., local businesses and industry, local government, medical service providers, academia, etc.) to develop solutions that will significantly address environmental and/or public health issues at the local level. $30M of funding is available to support approximately 50 awards of up to $500k for community-based organizations and an additional 33 awards of up to $150k for small CBOs with five or fewer full-time employees.  

Under both EJCPS and EJG2G programs, applications submitted must address one of the following five broad categories: 

• community-led air and other pollution monitoring, prevention, and remediation, and investments in low- and zero-emission and resilient technologies and related infrastructure and workforce development that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants;
• mitigating climate and health risks from urban heat islands, extreme heat, wood heater emissions, and wildfire events;
• climate resiliency and adaptation; 
• reducing indoor toxics and indoor air pollution; or 
• facilitating engagement of marginalized communities in Local, State and Federal public processes, such as advisory groups, workshops, and rulemakings

EPA will be giving special consideration to the following focus areas:

• Projects addressing climate change, disaster resiliency, and/or emergency preparedness 
• Projects located in and/or benefitting rural areas 
• Projects conducting Health Impact Assessments (HIA) 

Applicants interested must submit proposal packages on or before April 10, 2023, to be considered for the available funding. Applicants should plan for projects to begin on October 1, 2023.

The U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization (Blueprint) offers a whole-of-government approach to transform the transportation sector and sets forth an interagency call to action to coordinate and work effectively together. The Blueprint provides a framework for decarbonizing transportation, including modes operating at ports (i.e., maritime vessels, rail, off-road vehicles and mobile equipment, and trucks), and is the result of collaboration between DOE, DOT, EPA, and HUD.  

These agencies will develop and implement accompanying decarbonization Action Plans working with other federal agencies, governments at the regional, state, local, and Tribal levels, philanthropic organizations, the private sector, and global partners. 

EPA invites EJ advocates to participate in its National EJ Community Engagement calls, which are free and open to the public. The next EJ Community Engagement call will be held on this Tuesday, January 24th from 2:00-4:00PM ET and will include an update from the EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality Rail Study Team, among other topics. The agenda is as follows: 

• Leadership Update on establishment of new program office EJECR 
• Locomotives - Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ) 
• Secondary Lead New Source Performance Standards Proposal - Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) 
• Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Updates 

DOT’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) has announced the FY 2023 PIDP Short Form Interim Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), and will soon release the full NOFO. This funding opportunity awards grants on a competitive basis to assist in funding projects that improve the safety, efficiency, or reliability of the movement of goods through ports and intermodal connections to ports.  Eligible projects include port electrification master planning; cargo handling equipment and harbor craft replacements; electric charging or hydrogen refueling infrastructure for drayage trucks and locomotives; idle reduction infrastructure; worker training to support electrification technology; and other environmental and emissions mitigation measures. 

For FY 2023, MARAD will award up to $662,203,512 in grant funding. Applications must be submitted by 11:59 PM EDT on April 28, 2023. 

For more information on resources and best practices to address diesel emissions at ports, please visit EPA's Ports Initiative website.