University of Arizona launches environmental justice center

The University of Arizona launched its new WEST Environmental Justice Center this week, which will help “identify solutions to systemic problems that have plagued communities of color for generations,” in the words of Tucson Mayor Regina Romero.

The UA was chosen earlier this year to be one of the Environmental Protection Agency’s 17 partners across the country to each receive at least $10 million through a new program aimed at removing barriers and improving accessibility for communities with environmental justice concerns.

“Through their role, the University of Arizona will advise and assist overlooked and overburdened communities,” Romero said at a launch celebration Wednesday. “In Tucson, we are marching towards a shared vision of a future of climate resilience, equitable access and sustainable development and growth.”

The UA’s center will represent Arizona, Nevada, California, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands. The list of partners for the university includes the Sonoran Environmental Research Institute, the Public Health Institute, the University of Southern California, the Larson Institute for Health Impact and Equity and the Hawaii Public Health Institute.

The center is an “anchor for the entire Pacific Southwest,” said Martha Guzman, regional administrator of the EPA Pacific-Southwest region.

For the UA, being chosen for the partnership is extremely important, said Dr. Iman Hakim, dean of the UA College of Public Health.

“I take immense pride in the acknowledgement of (our) expertise and experience through the environmental justice center grant awarded by the EPA,” she said.

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“Those of us who have been working in public health for some time know that advancing our goals often takes years of patient effort, and progress comes in waves,” Hakim said. “This new funding from President Biden investing in the center signals a new wave of hope for health equity, for environmental justice, and for energy justice.”

Biden’s executive order 14008, issued soon after he took office, declared a climate crisis and allowed the EPA and other government officials to devote more time and resources to climate issues, Guzman said. It was because of the order, and support from U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., that the program has been realized, she added.

“Really I’m here to celebrate, and hopefully meet with many today to embark on this new exercise of talking about funding opportunities,” she said.

The center must spend the $10 million awarded in the next three years. It will be in charge of a plethora of responsibilities, including managing the federal grants received, identifying funding sources to apply for, and grant proposal writing.

Those involved are enthusiastic about the outcomes the center can provide.

“For our communities, environmental justice is an issue we care about out of necessity, not desire,” said Pima County Supervisors Chair Adelita Grijalva. “The fight for clean air, lands and water continues today.”