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The Environmental Protection Agency is now accepting applications for grants to be funded by President Biden’s $1.9 Trillion COVID-19 relief package. Last years awards funded projects that had very little to do about addressing the pandemic.
The EPAs Environmental Justice Small Grants Program Recently announced it is using $1.6 million of American Rescue Plan funds to award grants to “federally recognized tribal governments to establish or modify public participation programs where fair treatment and meaningful participation priorities have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
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Each project will receive approximately 16 to 20 grants, each worth up to $100,000, according to the EPA announcement March 21.
A sign pointing at the charge columns for electric cars in Germany, Neuenstein.
(Photo by Sinaschuldt/picture alliance via Getty Images
Last year, the program was in effect. 99 organizations were chosen from across the country to receive awards totaling approximately $7.4 million in grant funding, which included $5.25 million allocated from the American Rescue Plan and $2.15 million from what the EPA describes as its “baseline [Environmental Justice] appropriation.” Those grants were for up to $75,000 for each project that addressed “health outcome disparities from pollution and the COVID19 pandemic,” the EPA said at the time.
However, a review of the awards for 2021 shows that the program funded grants that had very little to do with COVID-19 or the pandemic effects.
President Joe Biden signs American Rescue Plan (a coronavirus relief program) in the Oval Office of White House on Thursday, March 11, 2021 in Washington.
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
The 2021 awards, unlike this year’s, were not specifically designated for “federally recognised tribal governments”. Instead, the majority of the awards were awarded to groups it considered small nonprofit organizations.
One of the nonprofits that received a grant was the Massachusetts-based organization Speak for the Trees for a project utilizing “storytelling” and “tree walks,” among other techniques, aimed to “increase awareness and dialogue surrounding inequitable tree canopy cover and its implications on the health of residents living in [environmental justice] communities.”
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The New Orleans-based Teaching Responsible Earth Education, or T.R.E.E., received a grant to “establish an empowering, school curriculum-integrated environmental education program for younger students propelling their awareness of problems like climate change and the injustices they create.”
Some of the grants went to projects promoting “green infrastructure” like electric vehicle charging stations.
President Joe Biden drives an electric hummer during a tour of the General Motors Factory ZERO electric car assembly plant in Detroit on Nov. 17, 2021.
(MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
Clean Air Carolina, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, received a grant for a project to install a public Level 2 EV charging station and to create an educational video as a way for “community members to get involved to mitigate air pollution.”
Roanoke Economic Development Inc, based in Rich Square, North Carolina, received a grant to “address air pollution and climate change through the development of a regional electric vehicle charger installation plan to promote EV use and accessibility by minority and low-income populations.”
Fox News Digital was provided with a statement by the EPA. It stated that the American Rescue Plan funds were used to “allow communities to implement solutions that could improve conditions related COVID-19 such air quality issues.”
“These projects all underwent a rigorous scoring process and approval process to ensure that project activities and goals align with ARP’s statutory authorities,” said a spokesperson.
The spokesperson stated that the 2022 call to federally-recognized tribes for grant applications “is utilizing EJ Small Grants Program” to efficiently facilitate distributions of funds to federally-recognized tribal governments in compliance with the ARP statute requirements. However, it does not affect any upcoming or past funding opportunities for the program.
The American Rescue Plan is being scrutinized more closely for its impact on the U.S. economic recovery. The new call for applicants closes May 20. Inflation reached 8.5% in March. Some economists, including former Obama economic advisers, blame $1.9 COVID-19 for overheating the economy.
President Joe Biden speaks after driving the Jeep Wrangler4xe Rubicon on Thursday, August 5, 2021 on the South Lawn of Washington during an event about clean cars and trucks.
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
“I am not surprised that the Biden administration is using pandemic aid funds to pay the bill for ridiculous initiatives such as environmental justice, telling people to not eat fish, and other Green New Deal initiatives,” Rep. Ralph Norman (Republican from South Carolina), told Fox News Digital. “They have no respect to taxpayers dollars, and have made a mockery addressing climate changes with their woke agenda.”
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Daren Bakst is an energy expert at Heritage Foundation and he criticized the Biden administration’s use of taxpayer money to fund environmental “extremism.”
Bakst stated that COVID-19 relief money should not be used as a cover for the Biden government to use taxpayer dollars in order to fund its far-left agenda, and to indoctrinate people into environmental extremism,” Fox News Digital reported. “But that appears be happening at EPA. The pandemic is not being caused by community tree walks, or teaching people how to prevent future sea debris. Similar funded projects are not even related.
“Americans are being crushed by inflation rates not seen in over 40 years, thanks in large part to out-of-control federal spending,” he added. “If the Biden Administration is truly concerned about low income communities, it would stop excessive spending, war against energy and general regulatory avalanche which is hitting Americans hard, especially low-income neighborhoods, through skyrocketing costs.”
