EPA Press Office:

EPA Regional Administrator to join Mayor and Utah DEQ in westside Salt Lake City for community discussions

EPA to present draft environmental justice assessment, highlight efforts to improve community health

SALT LAKE CITY (July 20, 2023) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator KC Becker will visit community leaders and residents in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Tuesday, July 25, to listen to community concerns, share information about EPA support and grant opportunities and present the initial results of an environmental justice (EJ) assessment focused on westside neighborhoods. 

Becker will be joined by Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Director Kim Shelley. Discussions will include two separate events that are open to media and the public.

These engagements will highlight unprecedented funding opportunities associated with the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, including new and strengthened grant programs for environmental justice, climate change, solar and renewable energy, air monitoring, zero-emissions school buses and property cleanup projects in communities. Salt Lake City and local organizations are already benefiting from many of these programs, and current and future funding opportunities under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act are extensive.

Becker will also present the preliminary results of a draft report detailing environmental and environmental justice concerns in westside communities, an analysis requested by the city and community partners last year.

WHAT AND WHEN: EPA will participate in TWO community events on Tuesday, July 25, that are open to media:

EPA, Utah and Salt Lake City partnership event

Remarks on funding opportunities and photo ops at Homeowner Center at NeighborWorks, featuring solar array and one of Utah Transit Authority's all-electric air quality monitoring buses

10:30-11:30 a.m.

Westside EJ community meeting

Presentation on EPA draft EJ assessment report at NeighborWorks

6-8 p.m.

WHERE:

NeighborWorks

622 West, 500 North

Salt Lake City, 84116

WHO:

• EPA Regional Administrator KC Becker
• Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall
• Utah DEQ Director Kim Shelley

RSVP: Interested media are asked to RSVP to Marisa Lubeck, lubeck.marisa@epa.gov. Please specify which event you are interested in attending.