July 9, 2004—The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is awarding cooperative agreements to 30 community-based organizations across the country to launch projects that address local environmental and public health issues using a collaborative problem-solving approach.
The projects include residents and stakeholders of East Baltimore, Maryland, working together on urban redevelopment issues; a group examining a New York community’s concerns about high levels of lead in drinking water and the safe use of pesticides in the community; and other projects focused on lead-based paint, recycling, toxic dust, and improper solid waste disposal.
Each organization will receive $100,000 over three years under the Office of Environmental Justice’s Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program. To accomplish the goals of these projects, the recipients will form partnerships with other affected community and grassroots organizations, local governments, health care providers, industry, and academia.
