The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced this week that Wichita State University will serve as a new Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center (EJ TCTAC) to help Midwestern communities access funding opportunities to advance environmental justice.
The university will serve communities throughout EPA Region 7, which consists of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska.
Wichita State University is one of 17 EJ TCTACs, announced in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy, that will receive $177 million to help underserved and overburdened communities across the country access funds from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, including historic investments to advance environmental justice. Each of the TCTACs will receive at least $10 million to remove barriers and improve accessibility for communities with environmental justice concerns.
EJ TCTACs will provide training and other assistance to build capacity for navigating federal grant application systems, writing strong grant proposals, and effectively managing grant funding. In addition, these centers will provide guidance on community engagement, meeting facilitation, and translation and interpretation services for limited English-speaking participants, thus removing barriers and improving accessibility for communities with environmental justice concerns. Each of the technical assistance centers will also create and manage communication channels to ensure all communities have direct access to resources and information.
EPA will deliver these resources in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy, whose funding allows the EJ TCTACs to provide support for identifying community opportunities for clean energy transition and financing options, including public-private partnerships supporting clean energy demonstration, deployment, workforce development and outreach opportunities that advance energy justice objectives.
