Facilitating Equitable Distribution of Justice40 Initiative Funding for Lead in Drinking Water

Abstract

Disadvantaged communities often find difficulty in meeting the eligibility criteria for federal funding opportunities. The Justice40 Initiative is the Biden administration's commitment to directing 40% of benefits from all Federal investments in clean energy and climate to disadvantaged communities. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has designated $20 million available for the Reducing Lead in Drinking Water Program (RLDWP). Here, our cohort of researchers share a policy brief for the underserved community of Watts in South-Central Los Angeles, which fears exclusion from the RLDWP funding from the Justice40 Initiative due to lack of support in proving eligibility. Our policy brief (1) demonstrates how this community meets the eligibility criteria for inclusion in funding from RLDWP and (2) demonstrates why this community and others like it, which suffer from structural disinvestment and marginalization, should be prioritized in the distribution of funding for this bill, and (3) proposes investment in community education as a policy alternative. Although Watts has access to a group of environmental scientists to support their concerns and collaborate on applying for grant applications, most under-resourced communities do not. We present this brief as an example of a policy intervention that could inform actions by the Justice40 Initiative for other disadvantaged communities to consider.