EPA Announces Iowa Selectees to Receive over $500K in Grants to Help Businesses Prevent Pollution

EPA Announces Iowa Selectees to Receive over $500K in Grants to Help Businesses Prevent Pollution

October 31, 2024

LENEXA, KAN. (OCT. 31, 2024) - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the University of Northern Iowa and Iowa Department of Natural Resources have been selected to collectively receive over$500,000 in grants to provide technical assistance to businesses to develop and adopt pollution prevention (P2) practices in local communities.

• The University of Northern Iowa was selected to receive $175,159. The university will provide training to technical assistance providers across the country, with an interest in developing their own pollution prevention program for breweries in their P2 in Breweries for TAPs (Technical Assistance Providers) project.
• The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) was selected to receive $331,809. IDNR will provide technical assistance to businesses using state-of-the-art techniques, including thermal imaging assessments. The program will review existing P2 opportunities, conduct detailed assessments, and conduct follow-up assessments of businesses. Thermal imaging assessments will focus on heat and energy loss, pinpointing building envelope issues, and equipment inefficiencies in businesses under all five National Emphasis Areas.

"Pollution prevention benefits the environment and creates healthier communities by decreasing waste and conserving our resources," said EPA Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister. "These funds will support innovative projects that enhance sustainability and promote cleaner neighborhoods throughout the Heartland."

"Iowans use innovation and commonsense to develop our state's all-of-the-above energy approach, including clean energy solutions. The University of Northern Iowa and Iowa Department of Natural Resources are among the pioneers leading the way," said U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (IA). "As a longtime proponent of environmentally-sound, homegrown energies, I'm glad to see these federal dollars put to good use in Iowa."

"The University of Northern Iowa Waste Reduction Center has worked successfully with craft breweries in Iowa for nearly a decade," said Program Manager of Food Beverage and Organics Jennifer Trent. "With this EPA P2 grant, we're going to be able to take what we've learned and apply it across state boundaries by working with our P2 partners in Region 7 and nationally to help craft breweries reduce their environmental impacts."

"The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has worked with Iowa industries since 1990," saidLead Worker of Pollution Prevention Services Jeff Fiagle. "With this continued support from EPA, we will continue to provide support to Iowa industries in support of their sustainability goals, including reducing their use of energy, water, and hazardous waste."

In total, EPA announced 48 selectees across the country that will collectively receive nearly $19 million in grants to support states, tribal nations, and U.S. territories. Thanks to President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, nearly half of the funds awarded this year were made available with no cost share/match requirement.

Pollution prevention, also known as P2 or source reduction, is any practice that reduces, eliminates, or prevents pollution at its source prior to recycling, treatment, or disposal. Preventing pollution at the source rather than managing waste afterward is an important way to support American businesses' efforts to reduce costs, while protecting communities from exposure to toxic chemicals and conserving natural resources. These practices are essential for protecting health, improving environmental conditions - including in and around disadvantaged communities - and preserving natural resources like wetlands, groundwater sources, and other critical ecosystems.

Between 2011 and 2022, EPA's Pollution Prevention program issued over 500 grants totaling more than $54 million, which have helped businesses identify, develop, and adopt P2 approaches. These approaches have resulted in 31.9 billion kilowatt-hours in energy savings, eliminated 20.8 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, saved 52 billion gallons of water, reduced 1 billion pounds of hazardous materials, and saved businesses more than $2.3 billion.

EPA expects to award funds once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied. Once awarded, selected grantees will document and share P2 best practices that they identify and develop through these grants, so that others can replicate these practices and outcomes. Each selected grantee will also develop at least one case study during the grant period on P2 practices that are new or not widely known or adopted, or where detailed information on the P2 practices could benefit other businesses or P2 technical assistance providers.

The grants funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will be fully funded upon being awarded, with individual grant awards as high as $350,000. Grants that are a part of the traditional P2 grants program will be funded over a two-year funding cycle and require a cost share/match of 50%. EPA's Pollution Prevention Grant program advances President Biden's Justice40 Initiative, which set a goal to deliver 40% of the overall benefits from certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.

Background

President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law made a historic $100 million investment in EPA's P2 program, more than doubling the funding for P2 grants. The first round of 39 awards funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was announced in September 2022and the second round of 24 awards was announced in October 2023.

The list of selections can be found below, and the selected project summariescan be found on EPA's Pollution Prevention page.

Read more about P2 and EPA's P2 Grant program.

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