The Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program

The Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS) Cooperative Agreement Program provides financial assistance to eligible organizations working to address local environmental 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 to environmental or public health issue(s) at the community level.

The EJCPS Program requires selected applicants, or recipients, to use the EPA's Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Model to address local environmental or public health issues in a collaborative manner with various stakeholders such as communities, industry, academic institutions, and others. The case studies listed in the resources section below highlight some of the successful strategies of previous projects. 

• Is My Organization Eligible?
• 2023 Selectees
• Pre-Application Assistance Calls and Webinars
• Resources

---

Is My Organization Eligible?

Eligible entities include: 

• a community-based nonprofit organization (CBO); or  
• a partnership of community-based nonprofit organizations * 

* A partnership must be documented with a signed Letter of Commitment from the community-based nonprofit organization detailing the parameters of the partnership, as well as the role and responsibilities of the partnering community-based organizations. 

2023 Selectees

EPA has selected 98 EJCPS awardees to receive a total of $43.8 million in Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding for community-based nonprofit organizations to help underserved and overburdened communities across the country. Awardees will receive up to $500,000 in grant funding. EJCPS grants will fund a variety of projects to serve critical environmental justice communities and issues including wildfires, health impact assessments, air monitoring, indoor/outdoor air quality, food access, community planning, community revitalization, community agriculture, green jobs and infrastructure, emergency preparedness and planning, toxic exposures, water quality, and healthy homes projects, wood burning stove replacement, solar panel installation, assessments, and water sampling and monitoring. Twenty-three projects will take place in rural areas and 60 will address climate change, disaster resiliency, and/or emergency preparedness.

Learn more about the 2023 EJCPS Selectees (pdf) (442.17 KB)

Read the press release announcing the 2023 EJCPS Selectees

This competition was launched in order to meet the goals and objectives of two Executive Orders (EO 14008 and EO 13985) issued by the Biden Administration that demonstrate the EPA’s and Administration’s commitment to achieving environmental justice and embedding environmental justice into Agency programs. 

 The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act created the Environmental and Climate Justice block grant program in section 138 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and provided EPA with $2.8 billion in grant funding for the program for projects to benefit communities with environmental justice concerns.

Review the Amended EJCPS Request for Applications for specific guidance and eligible project examples. (pdf) (1.17 MB)

 For more information, please contact Jacob Burney.

Informational Video on the Environmental and Climate Justice Communities Grants Program

Pre-Application Assistance Calls & Webinars

Applicants were invited to participate in conference calls and webinars with EPA to address questions about the CPS Program and this solicitation.

EJCPS Live Webinars

• Recording of the February 2, 2023 EJCPS webinar
  • Passcode: 46598050
  • Slides from the February 2, 2023 EJCPS webinar (pdf) (816.96 KB)

• Recording of the January 24, 2023 EJCPS webinar
  • Passcode: 85564988
  • Slides from the January 24, 2023 EJCPS webinar (pdf) (780.08 KB)

If EPA schedules any additional assistance webinars, details will be posted here and sent out by the EPA-EJ Listserv and the EPA Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights X account.

Resources

• Frequently Asked Questions for the FY2023 EJCPS opportunity (pdf) (215.96 KB)
• Review previous project descriptions by state or review project descriptions by year.
• Review prior year requests for applications (RFAs).
• EPA’s Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Model Guide (pdf) (1.21 MB)
  A guide to EPA's EJ Collaborative Problem-Solving program.
• Case Studies from the Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Program (pdf) (3.61 MB)
  In-depth descriptions of five successful CPS awards.
• Fact Sheet on Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program (pdf) (418.19 KB)
• Informational Video on the Environmental and Climate Justice Communities Grants Program
• Environmental Justice Program Funded Projects (2014 to 2020).
• The Power of Partnerships: 45-minute video of EPA's EJ CPS Model at work in Spartanburg, SC featuring interviews of key EJ stakeholders and community members explaining their roles in successfully addressing EJ concerns in the area.