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Crook County staff seek permission to apply for EPA climate‑justice grant to build Juniper Canyon resiliency hub
Summary
A county staffer asked Crook County commissioners for permission to apply for the EPA Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change grant to fund trails, a community resilience hub and a community water system in Juniper Canyon; the NOFO has minimum awards of $10M and a Nov. 21 deadline.
A county staff member identified as Sarah asked commissioners for permission on Oct. 9 to apply for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change grants, a competitive notice of funding opportunity that the presenter said totals roughly $2.8 billion with $200 million for technical assistance.
Sarah said the program’s minimum award is $10 million and the maximum is $20 million, so the county would pursue a large, multi‑partner project. She described a proposed Juniper Canyon project that combines hiking, biking and ADA‑accessible trails, one large building to serve as a resiliency hub and community gathering space (with a ‘‘library of things’’), and a proposed community water system to reduce burdens on remote residents.
"These grants are available for disadvantaged communities," Sarah said, noting Juniper Canyon’s eligibility under the EPA mapping tool. She asked commissioners for authority to hire a professional grant writer (technical assistance is also available through the EPA) and to continue forming partnerships; the application deadline was stated as Nov. 21.
Sarah said the county would need two lead applicants (one nonprofit and one government or nonprofit), and that the application would be stronger with multiple partners including fire, search and rescue and local nonprofits. She said staff has completed early cost review with facilities and recommended requesting an amount near the NOFO’s upper limit (about $19 million) to cover construction, water system work and resiliency center features such as powered heating/cooling and air filtration.
Commissioners and staff discussed site identification, potential partners (library and forest collaborative interest was expressed), and next steps for technical assistance and final application review.
No final approval to submit an application was recorded at the Oct. 9 work session; staff asked for permission to proceed with preparing an application contingent on identifying a site and partners and securing grant‑writing support.
