Impact
Serving as EPA Region 4 Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center (REACT4EJ)
Objective
To provide resources to communities who have been historically excluded and as a result are vulnerable to environmental injustices.
Approach
We serve as the EPA Region 4 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center, facilitating community groups in Region 4 to find resources, training, and connections to support work that addresses environmental justice issues. RTI does this through coordinating offices in each of the eight Region 4 states at our partner universities to aid communities with technical assistance that supports capacity building and preparation for grant applications and management.
Impact
Our work educates communities on resources for addressing environmental problems, such as navigating government tools, applying for grants, and managing grant funding. This work allows communities to thrive and mitigate climate and environmental vulnerabilities, creating a healthier future.
Extreme temperatures, flash floods, toxic chemical exposures, and poor air quality are some of the environmental risks that many people in America face daily. However, research shows that environmental problems disproportionately affect minority communities. These groups, specifically those living in low-income areas, are at risk for adverse health effects from environmental injustices that have persisted for decades.
For example, in 1982, hundreds of Warren County, North Carolina, residents protested the dumping of soil laced with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a now illegal chemical used in coolants and lubricants in electrical equipment, in a landfill sited by the state in the community of Afton. Despite six weeks of community protesting, trucks dumped the toxic soil into landfills, which eventually contaminated the county’s water supply. The predominantly Black communities protesting PCB exposure are now recognized as trail blazers for the growing environmental justice movement.
A National Program to Support Communities Vulnerable to Environmental Exposures
To help mitigate the historic disenfranchising of populations suffering environmental injustices, the EPA developed the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center (EJ TCTAC) program as a part of the Federal Interagency Thriving Communities Network. The network represents a holistic approach towards government-wide collaboration, with the goal of providing vulnerable communities, who have been historically underserved, with services they might not have had access to in the past.
The EPA established 16 EJ TCTACs that represent different regions of the U.S or support coordination between the regions. Each of these centers engages with community members through local university and nonprofit organization partnerships. The centers also provide assistance and training for managing grant funding, navigating federal grant application systems, and training on writing grant proposals.
RTI’s Role as Region 4 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center
In 2023, EPA awarded RTI with a $10 million grant to coordinate its Region 4 Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center, called the Resource for Assistance and Community Training in Region 4 on Environmental Justice (REACT4EJ). This region includes eight states and six federally recognized tribal nations, with at least one university partner in each state to provide individualized, in-person technical assistance:
- North Carolina Central University
- University of Memphis
- University of South Carolina
- University of Georgia
- Georgia Technical Institute
- Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
- Florida State University
- Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University
- University of Kentucky
- Jackson State University
RTI also partnered with the Environmental Protection Network, a group of volunteers and former EPA staff, to support REACT4EJ. This group helps communities navigate EPA grants, federal policies, and regulatory processes, allowing those who experience environmental injustices to successfully utilize government tools.
Connecting With Communities to Address Environmental Barriers
The goal of REACT4EJ is to connect communities with a network of partners that offer training, connections, and resources that address the following topics:
- Poor air, water, and soil quality
- Exposure to environmental hazards
- Climate change resilience
- Clean energy transition
RTI collaborates with each university and partner to host meetings and connect with the community. The REACT4EJ Network will offer trainings addressing topics like engaging with local and state governments, using online government systems and tools, and identifying and applying for grants. REACT4EJ also focuses on responding to all inquiries related to the above topics and responds rapidly to requests received through their website.
Creating Equitable Environmental Outcomes
Serving as the center coordinator allows us to leverage resources across the team to help vulnerable communities engage with existing tools, participate in training, and connect with subject matter experts. We can better understand existing and new vulnerabilities that communities face due to environmental injustices. We strive to help these groups access the proper resources and funding to address environmental injustices and create solutions that allow their communities to prosper.
Learn more about RTI's Transformative Research Unit for Equity.
