Port of Houston Gets $3M EPA Grant for Climate Planning
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The Port of Houston Authority received a $3 million grant through the Environmental Project Agency’s Clean Ports program as part of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ Investing in America agenda.
The agency selected 55 applicants in 27 states and territories to receive funds to support the use of zero-emission equipment and climate and air quality planning projects at ports through Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act — which has been the heftiest investment in clean energy in U.S. history, according to a news release.
The agency announced in February the two separate funding opportunities for U.S. ports — a zero-emission technology deployment competition and a climate and air quality planning competition fund. The first opportunity will directly fund zero-emission equipment and infrastructure to cut down mobile source emissions, and the second will channel money into climate and air quality planning projects, according to the release. The requests for funds from ports across the U.S. came to $8 billion when applications for both grants closed in May.
The Port of Houston received money for the climate and air quality planning competition fund, but was unsuccessful in receiving funds for zero-emission equipment technology, according to a release from Public Citizen Texas.
🚢 We are proud to announce that our #CleanPorts Program has selected 55 applications to receive nearly $3 billion for zero-emissions technology and planning at U.S. ports in 27 states and territories.
🔗https://t.co/qW7uUkYEte#CleanPortsProgram #EnvironmentalJustice pic.twitter.com/oZEZtSZ5aS — U.S. EPA (@EPA) October 29, 2024
Leticia Gutierrez of Air Alliance Houston and a resident of a port community said the application’s failure signified that Houston has some way to go when it comes to national competitiveness for funding opportunities.
“The port authority has made progress in collaborating with the surrounding port communities, and today’s $3 million award reflects that,” Gutierrez said in a statement. “However, the unsuccessful application for the $300 million grant confirms that Houston is not yet a leader in clean freight technology.”
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The money the Port of Houston did receive will support climate planning efforts, community engagement, union jobs and resilience planning.
Allure Anoma, a grants liaison for Houston’s Healthy Port Communities Coalition said the climate planning funds received through the EPA will be critical in helping the Port of Houston Authority work with communities neighboring the Houston Ship Channel in reducing the port’s impact on those areas and climate change.
“Port communities have for years said that the port’s efforts to communicate with the people living near the ship channel must improve, and this grant will fund community engagement, for which the port has lots of work to do,” Anoma said in a statement.
