EPA Grants Guide: Environmental Protection Agency

Environmental Funding for Communities

The Environmental Protection Agency funds a wide range of grant programs focused on protecting human health and the environment. For community organizations, local governments, and environmental nonprofits, EPA's competitive grants represent one of the most accessible pathways to federal environmental funding.

EPA's grant portfolio has expanded significantly in recent years, particularly in environmental justice — the recognition that low-income communities and communities of color often bear a disproportionate burden of environmental harm. If your organization works in communities affected by pollution, industrial contamination, or lack of environmental resources, EPA funding is worth pursuing actively.

Environmental Justice Programs

EPA's Environmental Justice programs are among its most important for community organizations. The EJ Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement Program and the Environmental Justice Small Grants Program fund community-led initiatives to address environmental and public health impacts in underserved communities.

The Inflation Reduction Act significantly expanded EPA's environmental justice funding, creating new programs including the Environmental Justice Community Change Grants and the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator. These programs represent some of the largest EJ investments in EPA's history.

EJ grants typically range from $100,000 to $1 million, with some newer programs funding larger initiatives. Community organizations with demonstrated roots in affected communities and strong partnerships with local government and academic institutions are competitive.

Brownfields Programs

EPA's Brownfields program funds assessment, cleanup, and revitalization of contaminated properties — abandoned factories, former gas stations, industrial sites that are environmental liabilities in their communities. Grants are available for site assessment (understanding the extent of contamination), cleanup planning, and actual remediation.

Brownfields grants are particularly well-suited to local governments, nonprofits working in community development, and tribal nations with contaminated properties. Award amounts for assessment grants typically start at $300,000; cleanup grants can be substantially larger.

Water Quality and Infrastructure

EPA's Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act programs fund improvements to water and wastewater infrastructure, pollution prevention, and watershed protection. Much of this funding flows through state revolving funds (capitalized with federal dollars and loaned or granted to local governments and utilities), but competitive grants for watershed restoration, nonpoint source pollution reduction, and water reuse are available.

Air Quality Programs

Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) grants fund replacement or retrofit of older diesel engines — trucks, buses, construction equipment — to reduce particulate matter and NOx emissions. These are available to fleets owned by state and local governments, transit agencies, ports, school districts, and others.

Tips for EPA Applications

EPA reviewers value community engagement and partnerships highly. An application that describes what your organization will do for a community scores less well than one that describes what your organization and the community will do together. Show that affected community members are involved in problem definition, solution design, and implementation — not just as beneficiaries but as participants.

EPA applications also benefit from specific, measurable environmental outcomes. "Reduce air pollution" is a goal. "Reduce PM2.5 emissions by 40% in the ZIP codes identified in our analysis" is a target. Reviewers and program staff want to know what success looks like and how you'll measure it.