“Thanks to President Biden and Vice President Harris’ leadership, EPA has provided unprecedented support for innovative approaches that prevent pollution and protect the environment,” said EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pollution Prevention Jennie Romer. “Empowering businesses through these grant projects is a win-win that protects communities while also cutting costs for businesses.”

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 afterwards is an important way to support American business’ 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 2011-2022, 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 kWh 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.

These newly selected recipients for the P2 grants program funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and EPA’s traditional P2 grants program, include a diverse set of projects that will tackle pollution prevention at the community level. Examples include:

• Kansas State University will lead a project to bring residents of disadvantaged communities together with representatives of nearby businesses in a series of workshops to share information and collaborate to implement P2 practices that cut waste and reduce pollution.   
• New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will partner with the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute at the Rochester Institute of Technology to provide technical assistance to the chemical manufacturing, processing and formulation industry to increase the awareness and adoption of green chemistry practices and train workers.
• Georgia Institute of Technology will lead a project to help businesses in metal manufacturing and fabrication, chemical manufacturing and processing and formulation to better track and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
• University of Massachusetts Lowell will lead a project to help businesses in the metalworking and metal finishing sector to reduce the use of toxic solvents in vapor degreasing applications by identifying potential alternatives, contact vendors of degreasing systems and establish a Vacuum Vapor Degreasing Validation and Demonstration Hub.

The agency 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 fifty percent. 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.

The list of selections can be found below, and the selected project summaries can be found on EPA’s Pollution Prevention website.

List of Selections for $9.3 Million P2 Grants Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

• Alabama: University of Alabama
• Alaska: Knik Tribe
• California: California Air and Resources Board
• Florida: University of South Florida
• Georgia: Georgia Institute of Technology
• Illinois: University of Illinois
• Iowa: University of Northern Iowa
• Kansas: Kansas State University
• Kentucky: University of Louisville
• Louisiana: Louisiana State University
• Maine: University of Southern Maine
• Maryland: University of Maryland
• Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts Boston, University of Massachusetts Lowell, University of Massachusetts Amherst
• Michigan: Central Michigan University
• Minnesota: University of Minnesota
• Missouri: University of Missouri – Rolla, Missouri State University
• Montana: Montana State University
• New Jersey: Rowan University
• North Carolina: University of North Carolina
• Nevada: University of Nevada: Reno
• New York: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
• Oregon: Portland State University
• Texas: University of Texas at Arlington
• Utah: University of Utah
• Virginia: Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
• Washington: Washington State Department of Ecology

List of Selections for $9.5 Million P2 Grants Funded by the Traditional P2 Grants Program

• California: University of California – Berkeley, California Air and Resource Board
• Colorado: Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment
• Connecticut: Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
• Delaware: University of Delaware
• Georgia: Georgia Institute of Technology
• Iowa: Iowa Department of Natural Resources
• Kansas: Kansas State University
• Louisiana: Delgado Community College
• Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts Lowell
• Michigan: Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy
• Minnesota: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
• Montana: Montana State University
• Nebraska: University of Nebraska - Lincoln
• Nevada: Western Nevada College
• New Hampshire: New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services
• New Mexico: New Mexico State University
• North Carolina: East Carolina University, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
• Oregon: Oregon State University
• Pennsylvania: Penn State University
• Rhode Island: Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
• Tennessee: Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation
• Virginia: Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
• Washington: Washington State Department of Ecology
• West Virginia: West Virginia University

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 2022 and the second round of 24 awards was announced in October 2023.

Read more about P2 and EPA’s P2 Grant Program.