SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected the Syracuse University (SU) Environmental Finance Center (SU-EFC) to serve as a regional EFC.
Its work will “help communities access federal infrastructure funds and continue supporting environmental and financial challenges in the communities that need it most,” SU said in its announcement.
SU-EFC will continue serving EPA region 2, which includes New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and eight Native Nations. It is also one of 29 EFCs awarded funding to support states, local governments, and Native Nations as they “work to protect the environment and public health” over the next five years.
SU-EFC is located at the SU Center for Sustainable Community Solutions (CSCS) in the Syracuse University Center of Excellence at 727 E. Washington St in Syracuse.
The EPA will award SU-EFC $1,084,000 for the first year and then at least $950,000 annually over the remaining four years. The center will serve as both a regional multi-environmental media EFC and a regional water infrastructure EFC to provide no-cost technical assistance to local municipalities, states, and Native Nations to build capacity and “support equitable infrastructure investments.”
As a regional water infrastructure EFC, SU-EFC will also work with communities to improve accessibility to bipartisan infrastructure law funds in order to support clean and safe water access across EPA region 2.
“The unprecedented nature of the funding SU-EFC has received from the EPA to provide technical assistance to underserved communities demonstrates a real commitment to ensuring safe, affordable and reliable water for every household in the country,” says Khristopher Dodson, director of water resiliency initiatives at SU-EFC.
SU-EFC encourages community leaders who are looking for ways to access federal funds authorized by the federal infrastructure law to contact SU-EFC staff or visit its website for more information on free upcoming events, Syracuse University said.