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EPA to Establish New Cooperative Agreements with Communities
September 23 – EPA is now reviewing applications for its Community Action for a Renewed Environment (CARE) program, a new EPA initiative that provides funding to community-based organizations working to reduce the level of toxics in their environment. The CARE program supports efforts to address risks from a variety of potential exposure routes, including air, water, and land. In addition to other activities, CARE educates communities by providing information about pollution-related risks, technical assistance, and funding. Through CARE, EPA serves as a resource broker, helping communities identify and access opportunities to acquire additional resources to reduce toxic exposures. Ultimately, CARE seeks to develop the partnerships that allow communities to become self-sustaining in their ability to identify new resources to fund further risk reduction measures. CARE offers two different types of cooperative agreements. Level I agreements are funded at around $75,000, and Level II agreements are funded at levels closer to $300,000. The Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) administers the CARE program in partnership with EPA headquarters, program, and regional offices. The first recipients of the CARE grants will be announced in fall of 2005; please visit http://www.epa.gov/care for updates and more information.