Congressman Cohen Announces $20 Million Grant to Young, Gifted and Green

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) today announced that Young, Gifted and Green, a community environmental organization, will receive a community grant of $19,996,791 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The funding comes from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act that only Congressman Cohen in the current Tennessee Congressional delegation voted for. 

The funding will result in the establishment of the Mid-South Environmental Justice Center with a community advisory board. It will also help to implement a community engagement plan, coordinated workforce training in green jobs, and hands-on water- and air-quality testing. 

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

“As we have seen in recent years, with fights over pipelines, air quality and our sand aquifer, we must be vigilant in assuring our neighborhoods and their residents see true environmental justice. This EPA funding will create a center to coordinate the appropriate responses and help communities get and remain safe and healthy.”

The Mid-South Environmental Justice Center will also support initiatives from its project partners and sub-awardees which include Green & Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI), Memphis Metropolitan Land Bank (MMLBA), Protect our Aquifer (POA), and Black Seeds Urban Farms (BSUF). 

In August, Congressman Cohen announced a $1 million grant from the EPA’s Environmental Justice Government-to-Government Program to address chronic dumping in distressed Memphis neighborhoods.

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