Project Summaries: Environmental Justice Grants Program (Cycle 3)
The Environmental Justice Advisory Board selected the following projects to receive funding under the third year of the Colorado Environmental Justice Grant Program:
Southern Ute Indian Tribe (set aside)
Project title: Wetland Monitoring and Assessment
Current funding amount: $225,000
Project goals:
- The project aims to measure how Tribal wetlands on the Southern Ute Indian Tribe reservation improve water quality.
It will assess the functions of wetlands to gather data showing their importance for water quality.
Using this data, the project will present a case to the Tribal Council for giving wetlands stronger legal protection as Outstanding Tribal Water Resources.
The project will guide management actions and help the Tribe's regulatory framework protect wetland areas.
The goal is to ensure wetlands continue to act as natural buffers against pollution, supporting the long-term health of Tribal water resources.
Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
Project title: Addressing Municipal Waste and Hazardous Materials Management in the Towaoc Community
Current funding amount: $225,000
Project goals:
- Support the Work of the Ute Mountain Ute Environmental Programs Department to improve solid waste management practices and hazardous materials management, including improvements to the Towaoc Transfer Station to manage municipal solid waste, reduce trash burning, and mitigate associated health risks.
- Support work to reduce hazardous materials like asbestos, lead-based paint, and mold in older homes, particularly during home remodeling projects for Tribal leaders and other residents.
Southern Ute Indian Tribe (competitive application)
Project title: Wood and Noxious Weed Waste Removal
Current funding amount: $100,000
Project goals:
- This project aims to enhance forest health, reduce wildfire risk, and improve wildlife habitat by removing approximately 4,700 cubic yards of wood and noxious weed waste from the Tribe’s commercial forests and woodlands. Due to contamination with invasive plant species and mixed debris, the waste cannot be burned or repurposed, requiring proper disposal to mitigate fire hazards, ecological harm, and rodent infestations.
The University of Colorado Boulder
Project title: Characterization and Control of Indoor Air Pollution and Heat Stresses in Adams 14 School District
Current funding amount: $500,000
Project goals:
- This project aims to enhance indoor air quality and reduce heat stress in K-12 classrooms within the Adams 14 School District through assessment, mitigation, and community engagement.
Key objectives include identifying effective control strategies, analyzing indoor air quality and heat exposure, evaluating the impact of High-Efficiency Particulate Air purifiers, and educating students and the community on air quality issues in schools.
Montrose Memorial Hospital, Inc. dba Montrose Regional Health
Project title: Montrose Regional Health Arroyo Move
Current funding amount: $449,400
Project goals:
- This project seeks to protect critical healthcare services by relocating an arroyo threatening a rural hospital’s parking lot and facilities.
This project plans to redirect the arroyo underground and around the hospital, preventing potential flood damage to the emergency department, morgue, and administrative offices.
Safeguarding access to care is essential for community health due to the hospital’s remote location.
Housing Authority of the City of Pueblo
Project title: Mitigating second and third-hand Methamphetamine Exposure
Current funding amount: $492,502
Project goals:
- This project aims to promote environmental justice by reducing second—and third-hand methamphetamine exposure in disproportionately impacted housing.
Over 24 months, the project will conduct regular testing and mitigation efforts in 200+ housing units to improve indoor environmental quality and protect residents' health.
Front Line Farming dba Project Protect Food System Workers
Project title: Reducing the Impact of Extreme Heat on Colorado's Agricultural Workers
Current funding amount: $177,089
Project goals:
- The goal of this project is to mitigate the impacts of extreme heat on the health of agricultural workers in disproportionately impacted communities by providing critical resources, knowledge, and practical tools to support safer working conditions, reduce environmental health risks, and ensure access to information about upcoming rulemaking processes related to heat protections.
Barton Institute dba Food Justice Northwest Aurora
Project title: Cultivate Aurora: Seeding Food Sovereignty and Environmental Justice in North West Aurora
Current funding amount: $500,000
Project goals:
- This project seeks to transform Northwest Aurora’s food system by increasing local food production in low-income, diverse communities.
- Key objectives include establishing an environmentally sustainable community greenhouse, launching a multilingual urban agriculture education program, and implementing soil remediation and water conservation strategies to enhance urban farming sustainability.
Rocky Mountain Service Employment Redevelopment/ Jobs For Progress, Inc
Project title: Rocky Mountain Service Employment Redevelopment North Pueblo Urban Farm
Current funding amount: $240,000
Project goals:
- This project aims to create a sustainable food production system to transform the Lake Avenue Urban farm into a year-round growing operation and create viable markets for locally grown produce, employment opportunities in farm operations, and developing a community grocery store.
- Additionally, this project will create a comprehensive training program to engage youth in hands-on sustainable agriculture and environmental stewardship education.
University of Colorado Denver
Project title: Community-Led Environmental Action for Neighborhood Water Accessibility, Treatment, and Equity Restoration
Current funding amount: $249,761
Project goals:
- This project aims to reduce exposure to toxic metals—arsenic, uranium, and lead—in drinking water by providing water filtration solutions for households with private wells.
- This project collaborates with the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council and the San Luis Valley Community Advisory Board. The initiative engages the community to improve water quality and safeguard public health.