HOUSTON, TX – Yesterday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced funding to Air Alliance Houston (AAH) and partners through the Community Change Grant Program to improve environmental decision-making across the Texas Gulf Coast.
“This new Community Change Grant will support a regional effort to scale-up our AirMail permit notification program and, in the process, help redress environmental and climate injustices. Intensive permit opposition organizing and community science will be used to slow and stop industrial pollution at its source,” says Jennifer Hadayia, Executive Director, “Permitting and project decisions for air-polluting facilities have been made without the direct and meaningful input of the frontline communities who live day-to-day with legacy pollution and its health impacts.”
While AAH and its partners are ready to begin this journey, they are also aware that the Community Change Grant Program has come under intense public scrutiny from the incoming federal administration, making the future of the funding uncertain. AAH urges law-makers to honor this historic investment in the public health of overlooked communities and to achieve clean air for all.
Map of the Air Alliance Houston (AAH) Community Change Grant Program Geographic Coverage and Partners for the Texas Gulf Coast
AAH is joined in this work by four community-embedded partner organizations who are, together, working across 10 Texas counties.
- Coalition for Environment, Equity, and Resilience (CEER) working in Brazoria, Fort Bend, Harris, Galveston, and Liberty Counties.
- Community In-Power and Development Association Inc. (CIDA) working in Jefferson and Orange Counties.
- Coastal Watch Association (CWA) working in Aransas, Nueces, and San Patricio Counties.
AAH will continue its impactful work in Harris County to activate communities to respond to air permitting decisions using AirMail. In addition, the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) will provide administrative and evaluation support across the project.
The Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grant Program is funded through the Biden Administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and administered through the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights.
The Partners had the following to say about the announcement:
“At the founding of the Coalition for Environment, Equity, and Resilience (CEER), we articulated an eight-point plan that calls for transparency in decision-making, cleaning up pollution in our soils, waterways, and air, and strengthening our region’s resilience. CEER looks forward to this collaboration as a way to meaningfully advance environmental protections across the Texas Gulf Coast.”
– Dr. Stefania Tomaskovic, PhD, Coalition Director, Coalition for Environment, Equity, and Resilience (CEER)
“Coastal Watch Association is excited about the opportunity to collaborate with Air Alliance Houston on the EPA Community Change Grant. We recognize the crucial role that our potential stakeholders, including Air Alliance Houston, play in addressing the environmental and climate justice challenges disadvantaged communities face. Our projects aim to build capacity, raise public awareness, and provide educational information about the environmental injustices to Coastal Bend residents directly in harm’s way by the increased air emissions, water use, and water discharge permits the state and federal regulators are reviewing and approving regarding the rapid industrialization in the Texas Coastal Bend.”
– Cyndi Valdes, Executive Director, Coastal Watch Association (IOBCWA)
“HARC is thrilled that the EPA has selected the AirMail Gulf Coast Community Change grant for funding. We are excited to work with Air Alliance Houston and the other project partners to empower communities throughout the Texas Gulf Coast to take action on environmental permits and projects and reduce the harm that poor air quality causes in their neighborhoods.”
– Dr. Margaret Cook, PhD, Deputy Director, Climate Equity and Resilience, Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC)
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Media contact: Cassandra Casados-Klein, Communications Manager at [email protected] | 713.623.1457
About Air Alliance Houston
Air Alliance Houston believes everyone deserves to breathe clean air. We support communities as they advocate for clean air and their health. For decades, we have championed clean air through research, education and advocacy. www.airalliancehouston.org