Despite decades of calls to action by environmental groups, there are still communities all across the U.S. whose residents live under the specter of dangerous pollution.
Now the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is undertaking a number of projects under the larger project of monitoring air quality in areas that have been identified as affected by pollution.
The EPA will allocate $53.4 million across 132 separate projects working simultaneously across 37 of the 50 states. The focus will be mainly minority communities situated near chemical plants or refineries.
Many of these communities have been trying for years to get the attention of federal authorities.
A press release from the EPA announcing the endeavor called it the largest investment in the organization’s history dedicated to the monitoring of air quality.
“I’ve traveled across the country and visited communities who’ve suffered from unhealthy, polluted air for far too long. I pledged to change that by prioritizing underserved communities and ensuring they have the resources they need to confront longstanding pollution challenges,” EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan said in the release.
“The air monitoring projects we are announcing today, which include the first EPA grants funded by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, will ensure dozens of overburdened communities have the tools they need to better understand air quality challenges in their neighborhoods and will help protect people from the dangers posed by air pollution,” he added.
The program was passed by Congress in August as part of President Joe Biden’s climate and health bill, the Inflation Reduction Act and American Rescue Plan.
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