EPA Ports Initiative Announcement

March 3, 2023

EPA is hosting a webinar on the Agency’s funding opportunities and technical resources to improve air quality and advance environmental justice (EJ) at ports! Join us to hear from EPA leaders and near-port community groups who have used EPA funding opportunities to advance their efforts. The webinar will cover:

• Current and upcoming funding opportunities, including EPA EJ Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement and EJ Government-Government program funding opportunities open through April 14 
• EPA Ports Initiative tools to support near-port community groups
• Lessons learned from near-port community stakeholders working to improve air quality

We also want to hear from you and will dedicate time to answer your questions about current EPA funding opportunities. Further, we welcome your input on the design of future EPA funding programs under the Inflation Reduction Act that can support EJ for near-port communities either during this webinar or:

•  For the Clean Ports Program, you may submit written input to [email protected]
•  For the Environmental and Climate Justice program, you may submit written input to EPA’s Request for Information by March 17, 2023.

Webinar Details

• Date: March 13, 2023 7pm – 9pm Eastern
• Intended Audience: near-port community representatives, environmental justice organizations, and other port stakeholders
• Accommodations: Spanish interpretation and live captioning will be available. If you require special accommodations, including live translation into a language other than English or Spanish, please contact [email protected] one week prior to the event to make arrangements.

Webinar Agenda

Hear from both EPA and near-port community stakeholders on:

EPA Programs to Support Environmental Justice for Near-Port Communities

• Alejandra Nunez, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Mobile Sources, US EPA Office of Air and Radiation

EPA Environmental Justice Grants and Technical Assistance

• Matthew Tejada, Ph.D., Deputy Assistant Administrator for Environmental Justice, US EPA Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights

EPA Ports Initiative Community-Port Collaboration Resources and the Clean Ports Program Established in the Inflation Reduction Act

• Harold Rickenbacker, Ph.D., Technical Expert, EPA Ports Initiative 

Lessons Learned from Near-Port Community Stakeholders about their efforts to advance EJ at ports, including through EPA support

• Christina Billingsley, Senior Program Manager, Environmental Engagement External Relations, Port of Seattle
• Rich Brown, Port Community Action Team, Duwamish Valley Community
• Select Recipients of the 2021 Ports Initiative EJ Small Grants

There will also be opportunities to ask the speakers questions and to offer feedback on EPA programs to support EJ for near-port communities.

Questions?

For questions about this webinar, EPA’s Port’s Initiative, or the Clean Ports Program in the Inflation Reduction Act, please email [email protected].

For questions about the EPA Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement program, visit: epa.gov/environmentaljustice/environmental-justice-collaborative-problem-solving-cooperative-agreement-5. For questions about the EPA Environmental Justice Government-to-Government program, visit: epa.gov/environmentaljustice/environmental-justice-government-government-program. Both funding opportunities are open through April 14, 2023.

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