Wash. projects among those awarded EPA grants to monitor air quality

WASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday awarded grants for projects to monitor air quality in 37 states, with a focus on minority communities and other areas overburdened by pollution.

A total of 132 projects will receive $53.4 million to enhance air quality monitoring near chemical plants, refineries and other industrial sites — part of a commitment by the Biden administration to focus on environmental justice in communities adversely affected by decades of industrial pollution.

The grants are funded by the sweeping climate and health law approved in August and the coronavirus relief plan approved by Congress last year.

Two projects in Washington were among the grant recipients. The Puget Sound Clear Air Agency was awarded $499,408 and the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community received $304,077.

“This money is headed where it’s needed most,’’ EPA Administrator Michael Regan said. The newly funded projects “will ensure dozens of overburdened communities have the tools they need to better understand air quality challenges in their neighborhoods and will help protect people from the dangers posed by air pollution,” he said.

Eight projects being funded are in neighborhoods that Regan visited on what he calls a “Journey to Justice” tour of communities plagued by long-term pollution.

“All people, no matter where they live, deserve clean water and clean air and the opportunity to live a healthy life,’’ said Regan, the first Black man to head the EPA.