This infrastructure investment and jobs act (IIJA) project will provide technical assistance (e.g., information, training, tools) to businesses to help them develop and adopt source reduction…

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (AZ DEQ) was awarded $296,594 under the Pollution Prevention Grants Program (CFDA 66.708) by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 9 to provide technical assistance to automotive maintenance businesses. Through this two-year project grant beginning November 1, 2022, AZ DEQ will develop online training modules, guidance documents, and signage to promote source reduction strategies. Specifically, AZ DEQ will create five training modules, two guidance documents, and two signage templates in English and Spanish. The training portal and materials will educate businesses on best practices for reducing toxic substance use, hazardous waste generation, and optimizing resource conservation. AZ DEQ will identify businesses in environmental justice areas for outreach and host webinars and trainings to disseminate the materials. The project aims to support pollution prevention adoption among automotive maintenance facilities statewide. No subawards are included in the funding.

This infrastructure investment and jobs act (IIJA) project will provide technical assistance (e.g., information, training, tools) to businesses to help them develop and adopt source reduction practices (also known as pollution prevention (P2)). P2 means reducing or eliminating pollutants from entering any waste stream or otherwise being released into the environment prior to recycling, treatment, or disposal. P2 practices can help businesses save money by reducing their resource use, expenditures, waste and liability costs, while at the same time reducing their environmental footprint and helping to protect human health and the environment. Specifically, the project work will develop an online training portal for the automotive maintenance industry, with modules that will tackle topics from best practices to encouraging the P2 foundations and fundamentals that are critical for these businesses. Adeq will identify and focus on businesses in environmental justice (EJ) areas of concern with the development of accessible bilingual training materials and guidance. These new resources will not only target source reduction strategies that lead to cost savings, but also encourage businesses to be better stewards of the environment. The project will provide the necessary assistance for these businesses to reduce their use of toxic substances, generation of hazardous waste, and conserve more resources through their educational journey thereby earning them the designation of 'arizona's sustainability stewards'. This award provides full federal funding in the amount of $296,594.activities:the priorities for P2 technical assistance (information, training, and tools) align with one or more of the program's national emphasis areas (neas). Specifically, the project(s) will address industries in NEA #3: automotive manufacturing and maintenance (NAICS code 8111). Adeq will develop online training modules and guidance to target the industry in efforts to promote conservation and reduce waste generation. Adeq will work directly with businesses to develop case studies and receive stakeholder feedback to help develop a usable and beneficial training program for facilities throughout the state. Outreach for training, case studies, signage and guidance will be conducted both virtually and in person, with an emphasis in EJ communities. Subrecipient:no subawards are included in this assistance agreement.outcomes:the technical assistance conducted by the grantee will benefit facilities and, if applicable, may address underserved communities. The grantee is expected to report on P2 performance measures (outputs and outcomes) and note who will benefit from the technical assistance as well as commit to following-up with facilities to find out whether the technical assistance was adopted and implemented. Specifically, the grantee anticipates providing: two separate spreadsheets capturing reported data that fulfills required outputs and outcomes from the request for application (RFA), and a P2 activities tracking log that captures P2 staff-related information supporting project completion, including information relating to webinars, industry communications, created P2 documents, and amplification activities. Expected outputs include 5 training modules, 2 guidance documents, 2 signage documents, 3 short videos; amplification including 2 webinars, 2 trainings, 5 outreach efforts with 2 webinars and 5 outreach efforts targeting underserved communities. Training modules and guidance will be available in both english and spanish to reach target communities.