Page 90 - Inflation-Reduction-Act-Guidebook

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Advancing Equity and Environmental Justice by Cutting Localized and
Legacy Pollution

The full promise of the Inflation Reduction Act will only be realized if Tribes, low-income
communities, rural areas, communities with environmental justice concerns, energy
communities, and other underserved parts of the United States benefit from the law’s historic
investments.

Several provisions are designed to direct dollars to these areas. The Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) received $3 billion for a new Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grant
Program, which will allow the agency to provide more funding to communities than ever before.
The Inflation Reduction Act ensures that community-based organizations will be the primary
beneficiaries of this historic funding, as Tribal and local governments and academic institutions
are only eligible for funding if they partner with a community organization.

Knowledge is power, and the Inflation Reduction Act includes several programs to expand and
improve pollution monitoring. Among other eligible activities, EPA’s Environmental and
Climate Justice Block Grant Program will support community-led projects to monitor and clean
up legacy pollution. EPA also received $117 million for community air pollution monitoring at
or near the fenceline of industrial facilities; $50 million to help state, local, and Tribal air
agencies to add new monitoring sites in communities and replace aging equipment at existing
sites; and $3 million to make special air quality sensors available to low-income and
disadvantaged communities.

The Inflation Reduction Act targets air pollution from the transportation sector, which can have a
disproportionate impact on low-income communities and communities of color living along
heavily traveled roadways and near busy ports. EPA received $4 billion for two grant programs
to replace heavy-duty trucks and port equipment with cleaner, zero-emission alternatives. In
addition, poorly designed or sited transportation projects can harm communities by increasing
dangerous traffic for pedestrians, limiting access to economic opportunities, or even dividing
communities. The Federal Highway Administration received more than $3.2 billion for the
Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant Program, which will support work to mitigate the
negative impacts of transportation projects and to improve walkability, safety, and accessibility.
More than $1.2 billion is dedicated to projects in economically disadvantaged communities.

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