Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers

(EJ TCTAC) Program

On April 13, 2023, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) announced its TCTAC, which provides grant funding to eligible applicants to establish technical assistance centers across the nation providing technical assistance, training, and related support to communities with environmental justice concerns and their partners

  • EPA has selected 18 EJ TCTAC’s in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy that will receive $177 million to help overburdened communities

  • Each of the technical assistance centers will receive at least $10 million to remove barriers and improve accessibility for communities with environmental justice concerns

OBJECTIVES

  • Provide outreach to underserved, overburdened, rural, and capacity constrained communities in Region III to receive technical assistance.

  • Deliver technical assistance to increase the capacity of Hubs and communities of concern in Region III to assess environmental and energy justice concerns.

  • Deliver training and technical assistance to increase the capacity of underserved, overburdened, rural, and capacity constrained communities in Region III to obtain funding to address environmental and energy justice issues.

  • Deliver technical assistance to increase hub and community capacity to engage policymakers, government agencies, and industry in projects, programs, and initiatives that will address local environmental and energy justice issues in Region III.

APPROACH

  • The NWF, T.H.E. E.J. Lab, and UMD EFC, will design, operate and lead the Region III TCTAC serving the states of DE, MD, PA, VA, and WV and  DC 

  • Core partners will collaborate with experienced community partners, using a hub system and will serve as central hubs, ensuring services are easily accessible to participants, both in location and culture, thanks to their local presence

  • The Community Hubs include:

    • Urban Kind

    • Appalachian Voices

    • Centro De Apoyo Familiar (CAF)

    • South Baltimore Community Land Trust (SBCLT)

    • Overbrook Environmental Education Center

    • Sussex Health & Environmental Network (SHEN)

    • Sentinels of  Eastern Shore Health (SESH)

    • Empower DC

  • Morgan State University (MSU) will act as the primary HBCU Hub and West Virginia State University (WVSU) will act as a hybrid community and HBCU Hub