98T65901

Description:
The Western Environmental Science Technical Assistance Center for Environmental Justice (WEST EJ Center) or Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center (EJ TCTAC) will be led by the grantee, Arizona Board of Regents, the University of Arizona, through a central hub (CH) with various units as well as the subawardee, Sonora Environmental Research Institute, to support all Region 9 communities with technical assistance for developing, applying for, and successfully managing environmental justice projects and grants. Other partners include Public Health Institute, Hawai'i Public Health Institute, University of Nevada, Reno, and University of Southern California, that will support the CH with marketing and outreach, training development, program evaluation, and tribal assistance. The three main objectives are: 1) providing assistance and training for grant applications and management; 2) increasing community involvement in environmental and energy decision-making; and 3) providing access to environmental and energy expertise. CH and spoke partners will lead on delivering services (in person and virtually) to eligible community organizations, building and expanding on their existing eligible community organizations in their network, and identifying and connecting with new community organizations, supporting community engagement and capacity building.

This agreement provides partial funding in the amount of $4,000,000. Preaward costs are approved back to 6/1/2023. Refer to terms and conditions.

Activities:
Key activities performed are as follows:

1) Development of the WEST EJ Technical Assistance Center, including but not limited to hiring and training, partner coordination, participant support, grant management, and EPA reporting;
2) Development and management of subaward contracts;
3) Development and implementation of a marketing and outreach plan reaching all of Region 9;
4) Coordination and execution of a needs assessment across Region 9, including but not limited to data analysis and planning sessions for how to address community needs;
5) Designing an evaluation plan to receive and incorporate participant feedback in center activities;
6) Development and execution of trainings for identifying and applying to funding sources for environmental and energy projects, as well as energy resilience trainings;
7) Development of an online funding repository as well as a summary of renewable and energy policies and energy financing options, which will be located on the established website for the TCTAC in English and Spanish;
8) Fostering community involvement and capacity building through activities such as community resource fairs, community champions program, and student internships;
9) Development of technical assistance consultation processes for community members, including but not limited to compilation of technical resources, development of user guides, statistical consultation, and hands-on assistance for submitting and post-award management compliance.

Subrecipient:
Each spoke will have a subaward workplan and budget assigned that is approved and managed by the grantee according to UA policies for subawards (https://research.arizona.edu/administration/subawards-outgoing). Arizona Board of Regents, the University of Arizona will report updates on subawards to EPA PO in quarterly reports and share any issues they have and need support with. The Arizona Board of Regents, the University of Arizona will have reviewed the budgets for University of Arizona and the TCTAC partners as subawards to ensure that all awards meet the specified requirements of allowability, allocability, and reasonableness with the terms and conditions of this EPA grant.

Key tasks for spoke subawards: All spoke partners will attend online monthly WEST EJ Center meetings and disseminate center resources, trainings, and newsletters, targeting specific audiences as needed. Regional partners (spokes) will provide local

University Of Arizona

2 - TAKE DECISIVE ACTION TO ADVANCE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS 2.1 - PROMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS AT THE FEDERAL, TRIBAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LEVELS 1 - A CLEANER, HEALTHIER ENVIRONMENT 1.2 - PROVIDE FOR CLEAN AND SAFE WATER 5 - ENSURE CLEAN AND SAFE WATER FOR ALL COMMUNITIES 5.1 - ENSURE SAFE DRINKING WATER AND RELIABLE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE 2 - TAKE DECISIVE ACTION TO ADVANCE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS 2.1 - PROMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS AT THE FEDERAL, TRIBAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LEVELS 2 - TAKE DECISIVE ACTION TO ADVANCE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS 2.2 - EMBED ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS INTO EPA’S PROGRAMS, POLICIES, AND ACTIVITIES 2 - TAKE DECISIVE ACTION TO ADVANCE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS 2.1 - PROMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS AT THE FEDERAL, TRIBAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LEVELS 2 - TAKE DECISIVE ACTION TO ADVANCE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS 2.1 - PROMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS AT THE FEDERAL, TRIBAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LEVELS 2 - TAKE DECISIVE ACTION TO ADVANCE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS 2.1 - PROMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS AT THE FEDERAL, TRIBAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LEVELS 3 - GREATER CERTAINTY, COMPLIANCE, AND EFFECTIVENESS 3.3 - PRIORITIZE ROBUST SCIENCE 2 - TAKE DECISIVE ACTION TO ADVANCE ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS 2.2 - EMBED ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS INTO EPA’S PROGRAMS, POLICIES, AND ACTIVITIES

66.309 - Surveys, Studies, Investigations, Training and Special Purpose Activities Relating to Environmental Justice

EPA Region 9: San Francisco [EPA - RO]

Tucson, Arizona 85719 United States

Single Zip Code

Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers Program (EJ TCTAC) (EPA-I-OP-OEJ-22-02)

Termination This cooperative agreement was reported as terminated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in July 2025. See All
Amendment Since initial award the End Date has been shortened from 05/30/28 to 05/01/25 and the total obligations have increased 102% from $4,000,000 to $8,100,000.