Sunday, December 31, 2023
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
Tuesday, December 26, 2023
Monday, December 25, 2023
Sunday, December 24, 2023
Overland Park man charged with robbing bank
PRESS RELEASE
Overland Park man charged with robbing bank
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Kansas man has been charged through criminal complaint in Kansas City, Kansas, for allegedly robbing a bank.
According to court documents, Cesar Serrano, 46, of Overland Park is charged with one count of bank robbery. On December 16, 2023, Serrano allegedly used a firearm to demand money from employees at Great Southern Bank in Prairie Village, Kansas.
The defendant is scheduled for his initial court appearance on December 20, 2023, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Angel D. Mitchell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison.
The Prairie Village Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Overland Park Police Department are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Flannigan is prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Saturday, December 23, 2023
Friday, December 22, 2023
Biden-Harris Administration Selects Texas Southern University to Receive $50,000,000 to Fund Environmental Justice Projects Across Region 6
USEPA News Release:
Biden-Harris Administration Selects Texas Southern University to Receive $50,000,000 to Fund Environmental Justice Projects Across Region 6
Grantmaker selected to reduce barriers to federal funds and issue thousands of environmental justice grants over the next three years
DALLAS, TEXAS (December 22, 2023) – As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the Biden-Harris Administration announced the Texas Southern University has been selected to serve as Regional Grantmaker that will receive $50,000,000 under EPA’s Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking program that was created by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the largest investment in climate action in history. This new grant program, which will make it easier for small community-based organizations to access federal environmental justice funding, responds to community feedback about the need to reduce barriers to federal funds and improve the efficiency of the awards process to ensure communities that have long faced underinvestment can access the benefits of the largest climate investment in history. Communities will be able to apply to Texas Southern University’s Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice for a subgrant to fund a range of different environmental project activities, including (but not limited to) small local clean ups, local emergency preparedness and disaster resiliency programs, environmental workforce development programs for local jobs reducing greenhouse gas emissions, fenceline air quality and asthma related projects, healthy homes programs, and projects addressing illegal dumping.
President Biden is delivering the most ambitious environmental justice agenda in our nation’s history. Vice President Kamala Harris and EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan were joined by Dr. Robert Bullard, a Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy at Texas Southern University to announce the historic Grantmaker awards.
“Every person has a right to drink clean water, breathe clean air, and live in a community that is healthy and safe,” said Vice President Kamala Harris. “For too long, however, low-income communities, immigrant communities, Native communities, and communities of color have endured disproportionate levels of air, water, and soil pollution. That is why President Joe Biden and I have put equity at the center of our nation’s largest investment in climate in history. Today’s announcement puts that commitment into action by ensuring critical resources to fund environmental justice projects across the country reach the organizations that know their communities best.”
“For years, community advocates have been calling for federal support and resources to help address our country’s most pressing environmental justice concerns,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Thanks to President Biden and Vice President Harris’ leadership, we’re responding to these calls by removing barriers that have traditionally held communities and applicants back from accessing these historic investments in America. Together, in partnership with these Grantmakers, we are taking a giant step toward a future where every person in America has equal opportunity to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live a healthy, productive life.”
“I am grateful to see the Biden-Harris Administration support and recognize the importance of strengthening regional partners like Texas Southern University to help advance environmental justice goals,” said Deputy Regional Administrator Stacey Dwyer. “Texas Southern University, with Dr. Bullard’s leadership, became a pioneer for environmental quality not just in Texas but in the nation. With decades of bringing awareness to environmental quality and for fighting to overcome local pollution obstacles, EPA is proud to call Texas Southern University a Regional Grantmaker. We look forward to working with Texas Southern University and Dr. Bullard to bring federal resources to impacted communities and to help address the region’s most pressing environmental concerns.”
“I am happy to say Texas Southern University is the HBCU that served as the ‘launching pad’ for my environmental justice career way back in 1979—before EJ had a name or initials. And today, 44 years later, TSU was selected to serve as a Regional Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaker,” says Center Director and Professor Dr. Robert D. Bullard, who is often referred to as the “father of environmental justice.”
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18) said:
“Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee is pleased to announce with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a major $50 million Environmental Justice Program Grant to Texas Southern University (TSU). TSU is the academic home of Professor Robert D. Bullard, who is known as the ‘Father of Environmental Justice.’ Dr. Bullard's groundbreaking work and pioneering research regarding communities of color expanded beyond academia to establish environmental justice as a national priority.
This unique grant we are announcing resulted from the work of many of us as Members of Congress on environmental justice issues. Specifically, this grant resulted from the work of the United States Congress and the Biden-Harris Administration on the Inflation Reduction Act, which is the largest investment in climate action relief in our history. I worked on the Inflation Reduction Act as a member of the House Budget Committee.
Through my 18th Congressional District Office, I led in efforts to directly engage the EPA on frontline environmental challenges facing residents of my district. I called a community meeting that brought all sides to a discussion on the creosote contamination of Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens, which led to my work for a cancer study of the impacted area. The study resulted in three reports each revealing a new cancer cluster involving residents of the Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens area.
I applaud the work of EPA Administrator Regan and his team for positively receiving communications from my office on the cancer clusters and their effort to focus energy and resources on the environmental problems faced by at-risk communities like Fifth Ward, Kashmere Gardens, and the larger Northeast community along with other communities in the 18th Congressional District. Under Administrator Regan and his team's leadership, EPA is bringing this grant opportunity to the City of Houston.
Throughout my legislative and representational work, I have worked closely with the EPA on addressing environmental concerns impacting communities in my Congressional District. I welcome today's funding and will work with the Administrator and his team to bring this grant opportunity to the City of Houston.”
EPA Grantmakers will work in collaboration with EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights to issue subgrants to community-based nonprofit organizations and other eligible organizations representing disadvantaged communities. As a Grantmaker, Texas Southern University will design comprehensive application and submission processes, award environmental justice subgrants, implement tracking and reporting systems, and provide resources and support to communities. The subgrants are expected to become available by summer of 2024.
EPA has selected, the Texas Southern University to receive $50,000,000 as a National Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaker to provide additional support, coordination, and oversight to the subgrantees, applicants, and the Regional Grantmakers across the southern part of the country. The Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice (“Bullard Center”) at Texas Southern University (TSU)—in partnership with Achieving Community Tasks Successfully (ACTS), a community-based nonprofit organization—will serve as a Regional Grantmaker (RGM) for the purpose of distributing funds to CBOs that are addressing environmental justice issues in disadvantaged and underserved communities. The Bullard Center RGM program builds on decades of experience, expertise and trust earned the past three decades in operating centers, consortia, and collaboratives engaged in regranting to EJ CBOs.
Grantmakers are expected to begin opening competitions and awarding subgrants by summer 2024. Community-based nonprofit organizations and other eligible organizations seeking subgrant funding will be able to apply for subgrants through three concurrent tiers offered by the Grantmakers. Tier One will consist of grants for $150,000 for assessment, Tier Two will consist of grants for $250,000 for planning, and Tier Three will consist of grants for $350,000 for project development. In addition, $75,000 will be available for capacity-constrained community-based organizations through a noncompetitive process during Tier One. Each Grantmaker will design and implement a distribution program best suited for their region and communities.
The Grantmakers program is part of the Federal Interagency Thriving Communities Network and delivers on the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative which set the goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. Grantmakers will work in collaboration with the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (EJ TCTACs) to create a robust support network to assist eligible entities when applying.
Learn more about the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmakers.
Background
From day one of their administration, President Biden and Vice President Harris have made achieving environmental justice a top priority. In August 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, creating the largest investment in environmental and climate justice in U.S. history. EPA received $3 billion in total to award grants and fund related technical assistance to benefit disadvantaged communities.
EPA has since launched and expanded innovative programs to provide more support than ever before to communities that unjustly bear the burdens of environmental harm and pollution. This includes the $177 million for the creation of 16 EJ TCTACs in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy to remove barriers to federal resources and help communities pursue funding opportunities like those made available through President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda.
EPA announced nearly $128 million to fund 186 projects across the country that advance environmental justice as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. The organizations, which EPA has selected through its Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem Solving Cooperative Agreement and Environmental Justice Government-to-Government programs, will use the funds to ensure disadvantaged communities that have historically suffered from underinvestment have access to clean air and water and climate resilience solutions in alignment with the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative.
EPA also announced approximately $2 billion in funding available to support community-driven projects that deploy clean energy, strengthen climate resilience, and build capacity for communities to tackle environmental and climate justice challenges last month. The Community Change Grants are the single largest investment in environmental justice going directly to communities in history, and will advance collaborative efforts to achieve a healthier, safer, and more prosperous future for all.
Learn more about environmental justice at EPA.
For up-to-date information on when subgrants will be available, subscribe to the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights’ listserv by sending a blank email to: join-epa-ej@lists.epa.gov. Follow OEJECR on X (formerly Twitter): @EPAEnvJustice.
Thursday, December 21, 2023
Florida Man Indicted for Hate Crime in Murder of Black Man in Kansas City, Missouri
PRESS RELEASE
Florida Man Indicted for Hate Crime in Murder of Black Man in Kansas City, Missouri
Wednesday, December 20, 2023
A Florida man was charged with a federal hate crime today for a murder he committed while staying in the Kansas City, Missouri, area.
Sean Walter Tonkin, 36, who was staying at a local motel at the time of the alleged offense, was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City with committing a racially-motivated hate crime resulting in death.
The indictment alleges that Tonkin, armed with a knife with knuckles, approached a Black man, J.M.R., on July 4. Unprovoked, Tonkin allegedly directed racial epithets and threats toward J.M.R. and ultimately stabbed him twice in the chest and abdomen, resulting in J.M.R.’s death. The indictment alleges that Tonkin attacked J.M.R. because of his race.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Teresa A. Moore for the Western District of Missouri and Special Agent in Charge Stephen A. Cyrus of the FBI Kansas City Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Kansas City Field Office is investigating the case.
Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney David Ketchmark for the Western District of Missouri and Trial Attorney Eric Peffley of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Texas Man Indicted for Stealing from ATM at Ozark Bank
PRESS RELEASE
Texas Man Indicted for Stealing from ATM at Ozark Bank
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Houston, Texas, man was indicted by a federal grand jury today for his role in the theft from an automated teller machine (ATM) at an Ozark, Mo., bank.
Nigel Dwane Luchin, 26, was charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo. Today’s indictment replaces a federal criminal complaint that was filed against Luchin on Nov. 6, 2023.
Luchin is charged with one count of entering a bank with the intent to commit bank theft and one count of bank theft.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, Luchin was part of a group of unidentified subjects who used a stolen Ford F-250 pickup truck to destroy an ATM at Southern Bank, located at 2471 Jackson Road in Ozark, Mo., at 1:26 a.m. on Oct. 30, 2023. They used a chain and two large hooks to dismantle the door to the ATM, the affidavit says, by attaching the chains to the ATM and pulling the chain and hooks with the stolen Ford F-250. They stole $30,700 from the ATM and left the bank, abandoning the pickup truck a short distance away.
Investigators learned the pickup truck had been stolen from the parking lot of Tom’s Diesel in Nixa, Mo., at about 12:30 a.m. the same day. They reviewed surveillance videos from businesses in the area, which allegedly showed Luchin and others arriving at the area in two vehicles – a Chrysler Voyager minivan and a Toyota Highlander – and leave the area with the stolen pickup. Both the Voyager and the Highlander were identified on a license plate reader and traced to two car rental agencies in Houston. Later the same day, a license plate reader in Houston captured both of those vehicles traveling in the same direction.
Ozark police officers searched the stolen pickup truck and found Luchin’s Texas identification card on the driver’s seat.
The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan. It was investigated by the FBI and the Ozark, Mo., Police Department.
Wednesday, December 20, 2023
Biden-Harris Administration Selects California-Based Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs, Inc. to Receive $50 Million to Fund Environmental Justice Projects
USEPA News Release:
Biden-Harris Administration Selects California-Based Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs, Inc. to Receive $50 Million to Fund Environmental Justice Projects
As part of the Investing in America agenda, Grantmakers selected to reduce barriers to federal funds and issue thousands of environmental justice grants over the next three years
Media Contact: Audrey-Olushola Momoh, 415-652-0424, momoh.audreyolushola@epa.gov
SAN FRANCISCO (Dec. 20, 2023) – Today, as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the Biden-Harris Administration announced that California-based Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs, Inc. (SEE) has been selected to serve as the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Region 9 Grantmaker. SEE will receive $50,000,000 under EPA’s Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking program, which President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act created.
This new grant program, which will make it easier for community-based organizations (CBOs) to access federal environmental justice funding, responds to community feedback about the need to reduce barriers to federal funds and improve the efficiency of the awards process to ensure communities that have long faced underinvestment can access the benefits of the largest climate investment in history. Communities will be able to apply to SEE for a subgrant to fund a range of different environmental project activities, including (but not limited to) small local cleanups, local emergency preparedness and disaster resiliency programs, environmental workforce development programs for local jobs reducing greenhouse gas emissions, fenceline air quality and asthma-related projects, healthy homes programs, and projects addressing illegal dumping.
“For far too long, communities that have borne the burden of environmental injustice have faced barriers towards obtaining the funding necessary to protect their communities,” Regional Administrator Martha Guzman stated. “Thanks to this innovative new program, these communities will have more equitable access to such federal funds needed to tackle longstanding environmental and public health needs.”
SEE will leverage its expertise and local connections to design a subgrant program that prioritizes equity-centered grantmaking processes and procedures in collaboration with its grantmaking partners: Community Foundation of Southern Arizona, International Community Foundation, Liberty Hill Foundation, Native Americans Philanthropy, and Resources Legacy Fund. They will use community outreach, a future Community Advisory Panel, and their collective regional grantmaking expertise to inform their outreach and grantmaking process to address urgent environmental and public health issues impacting communities across the region equitably. The program's streamlined award process will fund projects to reach socially vulnerable communities and those overburdened with pollution or high environmental or health risks.
“I am deeply honored and grateful for EPA’s support, which will enable our nonprofit cohort to amplify our impact in advancing environmental justice and tackling urgent climate and environmental challenges,” said Jennifer Hoffman, Chief Executive Officer of SEE. “We are committed to enhancing the grant-making awards process’s efficiency so resources reach the Region 9 frontline communities that need them most, fostering innovation and driving sustainable change from the ground up. Together, we will make meaningful strides toward a more equitable future where every individual and ecosystem thrives.”
EPA Grantmakers will collaborate with EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights to issue subgrants to CBOs and other eligible organizations representing disadvantaged communities. As a Grantmaker, SEE will design comprehensive application and submission processes, award environmental justice subgrants, implement tracking and reporting systems, and provide community resources and support. The subgrants are expected to become available by the summer of 2024.
In addition, EPA has selected the Climate Justice Alliance to receive $50,000,000 as a National Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaker to provide additional support, coordination, and oversight to subgrantees, applicants, and Regional Grantmakers across the western part of the country.
“Congratulations to Berkeley’s Climate Justice Alliance on their selection as Regional Grantmaker under the Biden Administration’s Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmaking program—which I am proud to say was authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act, legislation championed by President Biden and legislation I fought for in the 117th Congress,” remarked Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA, D-12). “With marginalized communities everywhere experiencing record pollution, environmental justice can’t wait. I know that the Climate Justice Alliance will use this opportunity to build capacity within their organization to address the pressing environmental and public health issues of the East Bay while working towards a cleaner future for us all.”
Climate Justice Alliance’s program, UNITE-EJ (United Network for Impact, Transformation, and Equity in Environmental Justice Communities), aims to unite collaborators nationwide to enable communities with environmental justice concerns and organizations nationwide to address environmental and public health issues. UNITE-EJ seeks to equip CBOs with the support, partnerships, and funding necessary to address legacy, present, and future environmental and public health injustices. UNITE-EJ and its partners will collaboratively develop and implement a simplified application, review, and award process that reduces barriers to EJ organizations’ access to federal funding.
“UNITE-EJ is excited and ready to serve as a bridge, model, and catalyst among organizations nationwide to confront the legacy of environmental harms, mitigate the effects of climate change, support the frontlines in enacting their localized visions for thriving communities, and pilot co-governance between the EPA and frontline communities hit first and worst by environmental injustice and climate change,” stated Marion Gee, Co-Executive Director, Climate Justice Alliance. “Climate Justice Alliance leads the UNITE-EJ application with skilled and highly-respected partners The Chisholm Legacy Project, NDN Collective, Fund for Frontline Power, JustFund, Amalgamated Foundation, Tishman Environment, and Design Center at The New School, and the Center for the Urban Environment at Kean University.”
Grantmakers are expected to begin opening competitions and awarding subgrants by summer 2024. Community-based nonprofit organizations (CBOs) and other eligible organizations seeking subgrant funding can apply for subgrants through three concurrent tiers offered by the Grantmakers. Tier One will consist of grants for $150,000 for assessment, Tier Two will consist of grants for $250,000 for planning, and Tier Three will consist of grants for $350,000 for project development. In addition, $75,000 will be available for capacity-constrained CBOs through a noncompetitive process during Tier One. Each Grantmaker will design and implement a distribution program best suited for their region and communities.
The Grantmakers program is part of the Federal Interagency Thriving Communities Network. It delivers on the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, which set the goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. Grantmakers will collaborate with the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (EJ TCTACs) to create a robust support network to assist eligible entities when applying.
Learn more about the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grantmakers.
Background
Vice President Kamala Harris and EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan were joined by Dr. Robert Bullard, a Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning and Environmental Policy at Texas Southern University, to announce the historic Grantmaker Awards. From day one of their administration, President Biden and Vice President Harris have made achieving environmental justice a top priority. In August 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law, creating the largest investment in environmental and climate justice in U.S. history. EPA received $3 billion in total to award grants and fund-related technical assistance to benefit disadvantaged communities.
Learn more about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook and X.
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
EPA Awards Austin’s Molecular Rebar Design With Small Businesses Innovation Research Funding
USEPA News Release:
EPA Awards Austin’s Molecular Rebar Design With Small Businesses Innovation Research Funding
DALLAS, TEXAS (December 19, 2023) –The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Molecular Rebar Design in Austin, Texas, is among 23 small businesses that received part of $2,298,867 in research funding to develop technologies that will help protect human health and the environment. The 23 small businesses will use EPA funding to develop their novel projects, including an AI-based mapping tool to support first responders during disasters, a reactor to remove PFAS from sewage waste, and a self-cleaning indoor air purification system for use during wildfires.
“EPA’s small business research funding allows us to harness the cutting-edge technology these small companies are developing to help solve complex environmental issues,” said Chris Frey, Assistant Administrator of EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “EPA’s funding will help these businesses move their designs from concept to reality and help grow the green economy.”
Molecular Rebar Design will receive Phase I funding under EPA’s Small Business Innovation Research program for developing carbon nanotubes as an alternative to 6PPD to strengthen tires, preventing microcracks and premature tire failure. The 23 small businesses are receiving funding of up to $100,000 for 6 months for “proof of concept” of their proposed technologies. Companies that complete Phase I can then apply to receive Phase II award of $400,000 to further develop and commercialize their technologies.
The following other small businesses are receiving SBIR Phase I awards:
- Creekside Environmental Products (Starkville, Miss.) to develop low-cost adsorbents from waste products like rice hulls and biochar to reduce PFAS in drinking water, wastewater, and agricultural systems.
- Fourth State, LLC (Ann Arbor, Mich.) to develop a plasma reactor that destroys PFAS and removes heavy metals in landfill leachate and other wastewaters.
- IM Technologies (Shoreham, N.Y.) to develop a plasma system to degrade PFAS levels for water purification and reuse.
- River Otter Renewables, Inc. (Stow, Mass.) to develop a reactor to remove PFAS from sewage waste and transform it into a renewable energy source.
- Water Illumination, Inc. (Irvine, Calif.) to develop technology using UV light to destroy PFAS in wastewater without producing harmful byproducts.
- Triton Systems, Inc. (Chelmsford, Mass.) to develop a microsensor technology to remotely identify harmful algae blooms and toxins in terrestrial water.
- DiPole Materials (Baltimore, Md.) to develop affordable, adaptable, and effective biodegradable filters made from nanofibers to clean indoor air during wildfires.
- Metalmark Innovations, PBC (Cambridge, Mass.) to develop a low-maintenance, low-waste, self-cleaning air purification system to protect against wildfire smoke.
- Rotoheater, LLC (Ann Arbor, Mich.) to develop a modular and cost-effective regenerative air pollutant control system for small sources in urban areas.
- Holochip Corporation (Torrance, Calif.) to develop a mobile mapping application that does not require access to GPS, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi for users in disaster areas.
- VISIMO, LLC (Carnegie, Penn.) to develop an AI-based indoor mapping tool to support first responders and other response personnel in disaster areas.
- GreenLifeTech Corporation (Banner Elk, N.C.) to develop a system for increasing the shelf-life of produce by recirculating oxygen in refrigerators.
- SafetySpect, Inc. (Grand Forks, N.D.) to develop a handheld device to determine the shelf life of red meat to reduce unnecessary waste.
- ChemFinity Technologies, Inc. (Brooklyn, N.Y.) to develop a method to extract and recycle precious metals from solid waste, including from catalytic converters.
- KLAW Industries, LLC (Binghamton, N.Y.) to develop an autonomous robotic system for sorting recycling that improves recovery and reduces cost.
- Recirclable, LLC (Arlington, Mass.) to develop an innovative approach to increase reuse in restaurant takeout practices and reduce single-use container waste.
- Valis Insights, Inc. (Worcester, Mass.) to develop an AI-powered software tool to recover valuable materials from metal recycling.
- Acadian Research & Development, LLC (Laramie, Wyo.) to develop an environmentally friendly, low-cost method of producing graphene oxide from wood waste to increase concrete strength and reduce the amount of concrete needed for construction projects.
- Lab to Market Fund, LLC, DBA Adhesion Technologies (Cambridge, Mass.) to develop novel bio-based adhesives for wood products in the construction industry to mitigate carbon dioxide and other emissions.
- Material Reuse, LLC (Gainesville, Fla.) to develop a time-efficient and robust assessment of existing buildings for salvageable and reusable products and materials prior to demolition.
- The SMART Tire Company, Inc. (Akron, Ohio) to develop an innovative and safe process for the reuse and recycling of superelastic shape memory alloys for airless, never-flat tires.
- GreenTechnologies, LLC (Jacksonville, Fla.) to develop a technology to transform food waste into enhanced efficient fertilizers.
Learn more about the recipients.
Learn more about EPA’s SBIR program.
Learn more about the federal SBIR program.
Connect with the Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 on Facebook, Twitter, or visit our homepage.
Biden-Harris Administration Announces $17 Million WIFIA Loan to Sharyland Water Supply Corporation
USEPA News Release:
Biden-Harris Administration Announces $17 Million WIFIA Loan to Sharyland Water Supply Corporation
DALLAS, TEXAS (December 18, 2023) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a $17 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan to the Sharyland Water Supply Corporation in southeastern Texas. EPA’s loan will support critical water infrastructure updates to ensure reliable delivery of safe drinking water to local residents.
Since its creation, EPA’s WIFIA program has announced nearly $20 billion in financing to support over $43 billion in water infrastructure projects that are strengthening drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure while creating over 140,000 jobs.
“With smart investments through EPA’s WIFIA loan program, Sharyland Water Supply Corporation is upgrading water infrastructure to ensure safe and reliable water service for nearly 90,000 people in southeastern Texas,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox. “Water infrastructure is central to President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda. Through EPA’s WIFIA program and $50 billion under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Agency is investing in drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater upgrades to benefit communities across the country.”
The Sharyland Water Supply Corporation’s Water System Infrastructure Improvements Project will improve the reliability of their existing system. Improving the drinking water treatment plant will help minimize unnecessary water loss. Additionally, the project will upgrade several miles of water mains during ongoing road-widening work. By coordinating this work, the community will benefit from multi-sector infrastructure upgrades while limiting disruptions to residents.
"This funding is a significant step forward in our commitment to providing top-notch water services to our community,” said Sharyland Water Supply Corporation General Manager Carlos R. Lima. “This funding will not only strengthen our infrastructure but also allows us to minimize the financial impact on our valued members. Together we are ensuring a sustainable and resilient water supply for generations to come. "
WIFIA financing will allow the corporation to keep water rates affordable for its customers, including many living in communities with environmental justice concerns, while implementing necessary water infrastructure improvements. EPA estimates Sharyland Water Supply Corporation will save $5 million with EPA’s WIFIA loan while project construction and operation will create almost 200 jobs.
Learn more about EPA’s WIFIA Program and water infrastructure investments under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Background
Established by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014, the WIFIA program is a federal loan program administered by EPA. The WIFIA program aims to accelerate investment in the nation’s water infrastructure by providing long-term, low-cost supplemental credit assistance for regionally and nationally significant projects. The WIFIA program has an active pipeline of pending applications for projects that will result in billions of dollars in water infrastructure investment and thousands of jobs.
EPA recently made the 7th round of WIFIA financing available and is currently accepting letters of interest for WIFIA and SWIFIA loans. $6.5 billion is available through WIFIA, and $1 billion is available through SWIFIA, which is a loan program exclusively for State infrastructure financing authority borrowers. EPA is currently accepting letters of interest for WIFIA and SWIFIA loans. Learn more about submitting a letter of interest for a WIFIA loan.
In addition to WIFIA loans, there are many federal funding resources available for communities and utilities to improve vital water and wastewater resources. President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure and competitiveness. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides a historic $50 billion investment in upgrading critical water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure.
Connect with the Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 on Facebook, Twitter, or visit our homepage.