Climate Justice Grants Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2442 To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to carry out a grant program for projects and activities to address climate justice concerns of environmental justice communities, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 12, 2021 Ms. BARRAGA´N introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Natural Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To require the Administrator of the Environmental Protec- tion Agency to carry out a grant program for projects and activities to address climate justice concerns of envi- ronmental justice communities, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Climate Justice Grants 4 Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2442.IH H2442 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2442 IH SEC. 2. CLIMATE JUSTICE GRANT PROGRAM. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator shall es- 2 tablish a program under which the Administrator shall 3 provide grants to eligible entities to assist the eligible enti- 4 ties in— 5 (1) building capacity to address issues relating 6 to climate justice; and 7 (2) carrying out any activity described in sub- 8 section (d). 9 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 10 under subsection (a), an eligible entity shall be a Tribal 11 government, local government, or nonprofit, community- 12 based organization. 13 (c) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a grant 14 under subsection (a), an eligible entity shall submit to the 15 Administrator an application at such time, in such man- 16 ner, and containing such information as the Administrator 17 may require, including— 18 (1) an outline describing the means by which 19 the project proposed by the eligible entity will— 20 (A) with respect to climate justice issues at 21 the local level, increase the understanding of 22 the environmental justice community at which 23 the eligible entity will conduct the project; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2442.IH H2442 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2442 IH (B) improve the ability of the environ- 1 mental justice community to address each issue 2 described in subparagraph (A); 3 (C) facilitate collaboration and cooperation 4 among various stakeholders (including members 5 of the environmental justice community); and 6 (D) support the ability of the environ- 7 mental justice community to proactively plan 8 and implement climate justice initiatives; 9 (2) a proposed budget for each activity of the 10 project that is the subject of the application; 11 (3) a list of proposed outcomes with respect to 12 the proposed project; 13 (4) a description of the ways by which the eligi- 14 ble entity may leverage the funds of the eligible enti- 15 ty, or the funds made available through a grant 16 under this subsection, to develop a project that is ca- 17 pable of being sustained beyond the period of the 18 grant; and 19 (5) a description of the ways by which the eligi- 20 ble entity is linked to, and representative of, the en- 21 vironmental justice community at which the eligible 22 entity will conduct the project. 23 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity may only use 24 a grant under this subsection to carry out culturally and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2442.IH H2442 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2442 IH linguistically appropriate projects and activities that are 1 driven by the needs, opportunities, and priorities of the 2 environmental justice community at which the eligible en- 3 tity proposes to conduct the project or activity to address 4 climate justice concerns of the environmental justice com- 5 munity, including activities— 6 (1) to create or develop collaborative partner- 7 ships; 8 (2) to educate and provide outreach services to 9 the environmental justice community on climate jus- 10 tice; 11 (3) to identify and implement projects to ad- 12 dress climate justice concerns, including community 13 solar and wind energy projects, energy efficiency, 14 home and building electrification, home and building 15 weatherization, energy storage, solar and wind en- 16 ergy supported microgrids, battery electric vehicles, 17 electric vehicle charging infrastructure, natural in- 18 frastructure, and climate resilient infrastructure. 19 (e) LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT.—The amount of a 20 grant under this section may not exceed $2,000,000 for 21 any grant recipient. 22 (f) REPORT.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 24 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2442.IH H2442 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2442 IH thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the 1 Committees on Energy and Commerce and Natural 2 Resources of the House of Representatives and the 3 Committees on Environment and Public Works and 4 Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a re- 5 port describing the ways by which the grant pro- 6 gram under this subsection has helped eligible enti- 7 ties address issues relating to energy and climate 8 justice. 9 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The Administrator 10 shall make each report required under paragraph (1) 11 available to the public (including by posting a copy 12 of the report on the website of the Environmental 13 Protection Agency). 14 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 15 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 16 $1,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 17 2031. The Administrator may not use more than 2 per- 18 cent of the amount appropriated for each fiscal year for 19 administrative expenses, including outreach and technical 20 assistance to eligible entities. 21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 22 In this Act: 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2442.IH H2442 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2442 IH (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 1 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ- 2 mental Protection Agency. 3 (2) CLIMATE JUSTICE.—The term ‘‘climate jus- 4 tice’’ means the fair treatment and meaningful in- 5 volvement of all individuals, regardless of race, color, 6 culture, national origin, educational level, or income, 7 with respect to the development, implementation, 8 and enforcement of policies and projects that ad- 9 dress climate change, a recognition of the historical 10 responsibilities for climate change, and a commit- 11 ment that the people and communities least respon- 12 sible for climate change, and most vulnerable to the 13 impacts of climate change, do not suffer dispropor- 14 tionately as a result of historical injustice and dis- 15 investment. 16 (3) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMUNITY.— 17 The term ‘‘environmental justice community’’ means 18 any population of color, community of color, indige- 19 nous community, or low-income community that ex- 20 periences a disproportionate burden of the negative 21 human health and environmental impacts of pollu- 22 tion or other environmental hazards. 23 (4) INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘in- 24 digenous community’’ means— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2442.IH H2442 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2442 IH (A) a federally recognized Indian Tribe; 1 (B) a State-recognized Indian Tribe; 2 (C) an Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian 3 community or organization; and 4 (D) any other community of indigenous 5 people, including communities in other coun- 6 tries. 7 (5) LOW INCOME.—The term ‘‘low income’’ 8 means an annual household income equal to, or less 9 than, the greater of— 10 (A) an amount equal to 80 percent of the 11 median income of the area in which the house- 12 hold is located, as reported by the Department 13 of Housing and Urban Development; and 14 (B) 200 percent of the Federal poverty 15 line. 16 (6) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘low- 17 income community’’ means any census block group 18 in which 30 percent or more of the population are 19 individuals with low income. 20 (7) NATURAL INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 21 ‘‘natural infrastructure’’ means infrastructure that 22 uses, restores, or emulates natural ecological proc- 23 esses and— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2442.IH H2442 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2442 IH (A) is created through the action of nat- 1 ural physical, geological, biological, and chem- 2 ical processes over time; 3 (B) is created by human design, engineer- 4 ing, and construction to emulate or act in con- 5 cert with natural processes; or 6 (C) involves the use of plants, soils, and 7 other natural features, including through the 8 creation, restoration, or preservation of vege- 9 tated areas using materials appropriate to the 10 region to manage stormwater and runoff, to at- 11 tenuate flooding and storm surges, and for 12 other related purposes. 13 (8) POPULATION OF COLOR.—The term ‘‘popu- 14 lation of color’’ means a population of individuals 15 who identify as— 16 (A) Black; 17 (B) African American; 18 (C) Asian; 19 (D) Pacific Islander; 20 (E) another non-White race; 21 (F) Hispanic; 22 (G) Latino; or 23 (H) linguistically isolated. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:14 May 28, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2442.IH H2442 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS