EPA Press Office:

Biden-Harris Administration Announces $449, 988 to Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe for Community Air Pollution Monitoring Project in Virginia

Largest investment for community air monitoring in EPA history funded by President Biden’s Climate and Economic Plans

PHILADELPHIA (Nov. 3, 2022) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected the Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe in Virginia to receive $449,988 for a community air pollution monitoring project.  The project is among 132 air monitoring projects in 37 states which will receive $53.4 million from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and American Rescue Plan to enhance air quality monitoring in communities across the United States.

The projects are focused on communities that are underserved, historically marginalized, and overburdened by pollution, supporting President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative.

The Upper Mattaponi Tribe will use the funding to build the Tribal government’s capacity to implement an air quality program to better serve their community. Activities will include training Tribal citizens in air quality knowledge and skills, developing a community advisory board, and installation and maintenance of an air quality monitoring station. 

“Funding for this project will finally give Upper Mattaponi Tribal leaders and citizens the data and information needed to better understand their local air quality and the capacity to establish and manage their own air quality program,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz.  “This air monitoring work will help them make informed decisions as they work to better protect the health of their community.”

The air pollution monitoring projects are made possible by more than $30 million in Inflation Reduction Act funds, which supplemented $20 million from the American Rescue Plan and enabled EPA to support 77 additional projects, more than twice the number of projects initially selected for funding. 

These grant selections further the goals of President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative and Executive Order, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, which directed that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments flow to overburdened communities that face  disproportionately high and adverse health and environmental impacts. 

See the full list of applications selected for award.