EPA Awards $125,000 in Grants to Five Border Communities

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded approximately $125,000 in grants to five border communities working to resolve environmental problems along the U.S./Mexico border. The grants went to those communities whose projects demonstrated sustainable development and whose efforts promote improvements in environmental health, risk reduction, hazardous and solid waste reduction, recycling and water conservation at the local and regional level. The program strongly encourages partnering with community members, businesses, and government agencies to work cooperatively to identify and develop innovative and effective projects. "These projects recognize that community involvement can make a powerful difference in the lives of people," said Felicia Marcus, EPA's regional administrator. "The recipients are addressing many of the borders' environmental problems through their creativity and teamwork; and by supporting them, it helps us in our own work to improve the quality of life and the environment along the border." The five recipients of the grants are located in the border communities of Arizona and California and include the communities of Yuma, Ambos Nogales, Douglas/Agua Prieta, Ambos Nacos and Mexicali/Calexico, and the Lower Colorado and River Basin Region. (Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)