DEQ Awarded Grant for Pollution Prevention from EPA to Benefit Oregon Business
The US Environmental Protection Agency's Pollution Prevention (P2) Program awarded the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality a competitive, two year $204,940 grant. DEQ will use these funds to support new and expand existing projects that show measurable pollution prevention results for Oregon business.
Any practice that reduces, eliminates, or prevents pollution at its source is a type of pollution prevention. The less pollution that's produced means less pollution to treat or dispose of and less that can pose harm to humans and the environment.
EPA grant funds will support voluntary pollution prevention technical assistance services for businesses to reduce and eliminate toxic chemicals and other pollution from air, water and land. The funds will support three projects to help Oregon businesses:
1. Economy, Energy and Environment (E3): Technical assistance for businesses to reduce pollution and energy while increasing profits through an onsite review.
2. Safer Chemical Alternatives Training & Assessment: Training for businesses and state employees to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to ensure informed substitutions of priority toxics.
3. Oregon Applied Sustainability Experience Internship: Establishment of an internship program for Oregon students to conduct research on reducing energy and water use, air emissions, hazardous and solid wastes and water contaminants.
These projects further DEQ's current work in advancing green chemistry and safer chemical alternatives, as well as the Governor's Green Chemistry Executive Order incentivizing chemical use reduction statewide. The projects also support DEQ's existing voluntary technical assistance and free training for businesses statewide on pollution reduction and energy savings. All of the projects will begin in the coming months and continue for the next two years.
The EPA P2 grant requires a 50 percent match, of which will be met in-kind by DEQ staff as well as partners. DEQ will be working with 15 state and regional education and nonprofit organizations on the implementation of the P2 grant programs. Some of the partners include Oregon Sea Grant, Oregon State University, the Pollution Prevention Resource Center and the Washington Department of Ecology.
DEQ applied for and was awarded the competitive grant in May 2016. This is notable as being DEQ's first such grant applied for and awarded under the EPA pollution prevention program in a decade.
Contacts
Lisa Cox, Toxics Reduction Analyst, 503-229-5185, cox.lisa@deq.state.or.us
Matthew Van Sickle, Public Affairs Specialist, 503-229-6044, vansickle.matthew@deq.state.or.us