Vermont Environmental News

$2.7 Million Available to Local Communities to Reduce Toxic Exposure

Release date: 02/09/2007

Contact Information: Dave Ryan, (202) 564-4355 / ryan.dave@epa.gov

(Washington, D.C. - Feb. 9, 2007) EPA today announced that $2.7 million is available to support community-based partnerships in reducing risks from toxics in local communities.

EPA will award about $2.7 million in two types of cooperative agreements through the Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) program.

Level I cooperative agreements will help establish community-based partnerships and set priorities for reducing risks from toxics in a community. Examples of past projects include addressing water quality in Puget Sound, helping to rebuild St. Bernard Parish in Louisiana, helping the Cherokee Nation deal with toxic waste, and reducing air toxics in Tucson. EPA anticipates awarding eight to 10 cooperative agreements under Level I, ranging from $75,000 to $100,000.

Level II cooperative agreements are for communities that already have undertaken a comprehensive process to assess risks from all sources of toxics, formed a broad-based collaborative, have identified risk reduction priorities and are ready to implement risk reduction strategies. EPA expects to award six to eight cooperative agreements, ranging from $150,000 to $300,000.

A range of community groups may apply for funding, including county and local governments, tribes, non-profit organizations and universities. EPA will conduct three conference calls, Feb. 20 and 26 and March 1, for prospective applicants to ask questions about the application process. Applications are due April 9, 2007.

The CARE program, which began in 2005, helps to build broad-based local partnerships for reducing risks from toxic pollutants that come from numerous sources.

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	Did You Know?
	Plume can be a visible or measurable discharge of a contaminant from a given point of origin Can be visible or thermal in water, or visible in the air as, for example, a plume of smoke. (2) The area of measurable and potentially harmful radiation leaking from a damaged reactor. (3) The distance from a toxic release considered dangerous for those exposed to the leaking fumes.