News Releases from Region 02
EPA to Fund Projects at Two New Jersey Universities to Help Businesses in New Jersey Become Sustainable and Profitable
EPA Selects over 40 Organizations to Receive $9.3 Million in Pollution Prevention Grants
NEW YORK – Today, during Pollution Prevention (P2) Week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the selection of 42 organizations across 39 states to receive grant funding totaling $9.3 million, supporting pollution prevention across the country. These grants will fund projects that provide businesses and other facilities with information, training, and tools to help them develop and adopt cost-effective changes in production, operation, and use of materials to reduce costs and the use of water, energy and other natural resources. Two universities in New Jersey were selected to receive funding for their technical assistance projects. Rutgers University will support leading wineries in improving their overall water and energy efficiencies and Rowan University will help industrial manufacturers reduce lube oil waste by optimizing their pipeline flushing and cleaning operations.
“As we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Pollution Prevention Act, we are proud to announce more than $9 million in P2 grants which will help businesses in communities across the United States protect the environment and reduce waste and costs,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “The work done as a result of EPA’s P2 grants will create best practices that current and future organizations can use to cut pollution and advance innovation and economic growth.”
“By preventing pollution at the source through reductions in waste generation and toxic chemical use, EPA’s P2 grants help businesses conserve precious resources while improving their bottom line,” said EPA Regional Administrator Pete Lopez. “We are pleased to support Rowan University in an innovative project to reduce lubricant oil waste and Rutgers University’s efforts to make wineries energy and water efficient.”
EPA selected Rutgers University as a grant recipient to develop and provide technical assistance to New Jersey’s winery industry to help them reduce their energy and water consumption, improve their wastewater management and save money through reduced resource use and waste disposal. Rutgers will develop best management practices and host workshops and training sessions for all New Jersey wineries. Rutgers will select four wineries for onsite technical assistance and will share results and lessons learned through the case studies with wineries throughout the state. According to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, in 2016 the 50 licensed wineries in New Jersey produced almost 2 million gallons of wine with a retail value of almost $30 million. The number of farm wineries continues to grow, and New Jersey’s wines are being recognized nationally and internationally for their quality and flavor, winning awards and prestigious wine competitions.
With the help of the P2 grant, Rowan University plans to provide pollution prevention technical assistance to the ExxonMobil Lubricants and Oil Blending Plant in Paulsboro, New Jersey. It is estimated, that in a given production year, this large facility supplies over 15,000 different oil-based products to automotive manufacturers and consumer distributors and generates significant waste oil by-products. Rowan intends to explore and recommend alternative flushing and cleaning technologies to minimize oil waste and encourage oil recovery from lube oil mixtures. Rowan will share its results with the oil-based chemicals and automotive products sector.
EPA anticipates that it will award these individual grant projects ranging in the amounts of $25,000 to $498,000 once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied. Rutgers is expected to receive $298,253 in EPA funding, and Rowan University is expected to receive $299,974 for its project.
For these grants, EPA emphasizes the importance of grantees documenting and sharing P2 best practices that are identified and developed through these grants, so that others can replicate these practices and outcomes. Each grantee will be required to 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 work done under these grants will focus on at least one of the five P2 priority areas, also referred to as National Emphasis Areas and support several of the agency’s Smart Sectors. These areas include food and beverage manufacturing, chemical manufacturing, automotive manufacturing, aerospace product/part manufacturing, and metal manufacturing.
This year marks 30 years since the passage of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990, which focuses industry, government, and public attention on reducing the amount of pollution through cost-effective changes in production, operation, and raw materials use. This week is also P2 Week, a time to celebrate the diverse and creative ways businesses, academic institutions, local governments, and other organizations are working to prevent pollution. In support of the Pollution Prevention Act and P2 Week, these grant awards encourage businesses and other stakeholders to find ways to use materials more efficiently and prevent pollution at its source, furthering EPA’s mission to protect public health and the environment.
2020 EPA P2 Grant Recipients:
Alabama: University of Alabama
Arizona: Arizona State University
California: University of California, at Berkeley
Colorado: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
Connecticut: Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
Delaware: University of Delaware
District of Columbia: District of Columbia Department of Energy and Environment
Georgia: Georgia Tech
Idaho: Idaho Department of Environmental Quality
Illinois: University of Illinois
Iowa: Iowa Department of Natural Resources
Kansas: Kansas State University
Kentucky: Kentucky Department of Compliance Assistance
Louisiana: Louisiana State University
Maine: University of Southern Maine
Maryland: Maryland Department of Environment
Michigan: Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy
Minnesota: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Mississippi: Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality
Missouri: Missouri State University
Montana: Montana State University
Nebraska: University of Nebraska, at Lincoln
Nevada: Western Nevada College
New Hampshire: New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services
New Jersey: Rowan University; Rutgers University
New Mexico: New Mexico State University
North Carolina: East Carolina University; North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
Ohio: Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
Oregon: Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University
Rhode Island: Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
South Carolina: Clemson University
Tennessee: Tennessee Department of Environmental Conservation
Texas: University of Texas, at Arlington
Vermont: Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation
Virginia: Virginia Department of Environmental Quality; Wytheville Community College
Washington: Washington Department of Ecology
West Virginia: West Virginia University
Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin
For more information about EPA’s P2 and the P2 Grant Program, please visit https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/p2
Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, http://facebook.com/eparegion2
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