EPA Creates $30 Million Grants Program to Advance Great Lakes Projects in Underserved Communities

Underserved communities will be able to access $30 million in environmental justice grants for restoration projects in the Great Lakes region under a new federal program.

The Environmental Protection Agency recently announced that it has set aside the funds as part of the Great Lakes Environmental Justice Grant Program. The money is part of the funding awarded through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative included in President Joe Biden’s $1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed into law in 2021.

The grants will help advance environmental protection and restoration projects in communities that have been disproportionately affected by pollution in the Great Lakes region.

“The Great Lakes are national treasures that play critical cultural, economic and environmental roles in the region and beyond,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement announcing the program. “Thanks to the President’s historic investments in America, we are removing barriers and moving faster to advance environmental justice in communities that have been neglected for too long.”

As the president bids for re-election, the Biden administration is urging investment as part of improvements related to its legislative agenda, including the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the American Rescue Plan Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. is committed to advancing environmental justice as part of its Justice40 initiative which directs agencies to give 40 percent of federal investment benefits to underprivileged communities that have been overburdened by pollution.

Under the program, the agency seeks to reduce barriers to underprivileged communities accessing funds by awarding money to “major recipients” which may include non-profit groups, universities, local governments, state agencies or tribe. Chris Korleski, director of EPA’s Great Lakes National Program Office, said those groups will run their own environmental justice grant programs.

“They’re the ones that communities would actually apply to for direct funding for the effective implementation of Great Lakes restoration and protection projects,” Korleski said.

The process is intended to assist communities that may not have the staff or resources to apply for federal grants.

“I hope that as (funding) goes down, it alleviates some of the difficulty of working through the federal grant system by having another institution do it,” said Brenda Coley, co-executive director of Milwaukee Water Commons . “And, then, they have a relationship with the community where they get advice, check what they’re doing, and alert people to what’s going on.”

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Once programs are in place, funding can be allocated for habitat restoration, stormwater runoff reduction, control of the spread of invasive species, or environmental education in the region.

The Great Lakes provide clean water for 40 million people. A 2020 analysis found they support more than 1.3 million jobs that generate $82 billion in wages each year.

Congress authorized the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative’s funding to grow from $375 million in September last year to a maximum of $475 million by 2026. The program has received bipartisan support from congressional lawmakers, including the Republican Representative Mike Gallagher and United States Senator Tammy Baldwin. Since 2010, Congress has allocated approximately $3.6 billion to more than 7,300 projects.

Last year, the Biden administration awarded an additional $1 billion to expedite cleanup of polluted sites under the Great Lakes Cleanup Program. The infusion of federal funds is set to conclude restoration efforts at those sites by the end of the decade, including the Milwaukee River Estuary on Lake Michigan. It is one of five sites in the state initially designated as a polluted hotspot under the Great Lakes Water Quality Accord in 1987.

The river has large amounts of contaminated sediment that needs to be removed. Industrial practices and poor sewage treatment prior to the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972 polluted waterfront areas with debris, oil, grease, and waste.

Coley said people of color and low-income residents in Milwaukee often face barriers to accessing clean water.

“That’s the stream they have,” Coley said. “They can’t travel two hours to get to a cleaner, a spring or a tributary. They’re left with what’s here and it’s not clean.”

Korleski said the grants won’t be limited to rehabilitation work at the state’s most polluted sites on the Great Lakes, noting that the need is much broader than those areas.

EPA uses an environmental justice screening tool to identify underserved or underserved communities that are most susceptible to significant environmental impacts, but does not intend to label areas as environmental justice communities. The tool shows the potential vulnerability of a community based on multiple environmental factors such as the presence of ozone pollution or hazardous waste. It also considers socioeconomic factors such as the share of residents who are people of color, low-income, or lacking a high school education.

Korleski said they will ask applicants to identify their criteria for determining underprivileged communities. Coley said she would like to see data showing the effects of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative on communities of color surrounding the water.

EPA intends to award $30 million for one to six cooperation agreements with eligible applicants over six years. Funding would be awarded to advance projects across the entire Great Lakes Basin or in a specific region. The EPA is accepting applications through August 11.