Louisiana’s Bayou Michoud to benefit from $120,000 in EPA funding

Mary Queen of Viet Nam Community Development Corp. of Southern Louisiana is one of 10 organizations recently selected to receive $120,000 in funding through the Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement program.
 
“These community-based organizations will build resilience in their local community, ultimately diminishing the effects of climate change and water pollution,” EPA Regional Administrator Ron Curry said. “This EJ agreement will aid local efforts to address environmental issues and help make a difference for local residents.”
 
Mary Queen of Viet Nam Community Development Corp. will use its $120,000 in funding to positively affect Louisiana’s Bayou Michoud, improving stormwater and pollution management in the area. The organization will show community members how pollution in the Gulf of Mexico has been reduced using a demonstration riparian buffer, which it will implement.
 
The EPA’s Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving Cooperative Agreement program enables community-based organizations, including nonprofits and tribal organizations, to address environmental and public health issues in their community. Through EPA funding, selected organizations are able to partner with other government, industry and academic stakeholders to implement their solutions.
 
The EPA has awarded approximately $1.2 million for organizations through the program’s most recent round of funding.