The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $34,403,346 in funding for two selected applications to help disadvantaged communities in Alabama and Tennessee, including almost $20 million for Chattanooga.
The funding to Trust for Public Land and the city of Chattanooga is to develop a 2.6-mile trail system in South Chattanooga, expand greenspace and tree canopy, and improve stormwater and floodplain management using nature-based solutions.
The Alton Park Connector will follow an old rail line from the Riverwalk to a crossing of Broad Street near WDEF-TV and on to Alton Park.
Officials said, "This project, first identified as a community priority in 2002, will help transform and reconnect three disadvantaged communities that have been isolated by railroads, highways, and other barriers. More than 3,800 individuals who live within a half-mile of the trail will benefit from this project."
“This is a historic investment in an area of Chattanooga that needs and deserves it, and we can’t thank EPA enough for this award,” said Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly. “This $19.5 million will help us and our valued partners at the Trust for Public Land extend the Alton Park Connector from the Riverwalk to Clifton Hills Elementary while investing in community organizations. The Alton Park Connector will add greenspace and tree canopy, giving Chattanoogans a beautiful new option for outdoor recreation. But just as importantly, it will reconnect an underserved community to the rest of Chattanooga and the new development in the South Broad area, forging a path to better jobs, amenities, and services for the Chattanoogans who live in the area. This is One Chattanooga in action.”
“As a community-centered organization devoted to connecting everyone to the outdoors, EPA’s award is a transformational investment in a longstanding priority for South Chattanooga’s isolated neighborhoods to connect to the City’s renaissance of economic opportunity and public space investment,” said Noel Durant of the Tennessee State Director of Trust for Public Land.
“Chattanooga’s Southside has struggled through decades of disinvestment and environmental contamination. This award shows how our voices and advocacy can change our community's story and our lives by connecting us to the rest of the city and a shared vision of possibilities,” said Maria Noel, a longtime community advocate for South Chattanooga.
The two selected applications in the Southeast are among 21 selected nationally under the Community Change Grants Program’s rolling application process.
The Inflation Reduction Act provides $3 billion to EPA to award grants that help disadvantaged communities and offer technical assistance. With these grants, EPA is delivering on this mission.
This initial selection cohort also includes over $14 million to Texas A&M University and the Black Belt Unincorporated Wastewater Program to install onsite wastewater treatment systems for 350 households that lack adequate wastewater management in Alabama’s Hale, Lowndes, and Wilcox counties. This project also will develop a training, certification, and post-secondary bridge program to produce in-demand wastewater-professionals for this rural area.
The grants are "to tackle environmental and climate justice challenges through projects that reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience and build community capacity."
The Community Change Grants Program is the single largest investment in environmental and climate justice in history, officials said. The funding announcement Monday is the first tranche of nearly $2 billion from the program that was designed based on community input to award grants on a rolling basis.
“Our ability to deliver tangible results for communities depends on listening to them and developing innovative solutions through inclusive stakeholder engagement,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Today, thanks to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, EPA has selected the first cohort of community partnerships to solve emerging and longstanding environmental and climate justice challenges.”
“We are excited to announce these awards to the first two selectees in EPA’s Southeast Region,” said acting Regional Administrator Jeaneanne Gettle. “This first set of impactful community change grants will help hundreds of residents in Chattanooga and Alabama address significant quality of life issues that they have endured as environmental justice communities.”