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Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06) today announced the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded a $1 million Environmental Justice Government-to-Government grant to the city of Ann Arbor to develop a climate resiliency plan.

Ann Arbor will partner with community-based organizations, including the Community Action Network at Green Baxter Court and the Peace Neighborhood Center, to create a network of facilitated communication channels that will allow the most vulnerable parts of the community to better organize as part of the climate resiliency plan. The plan will include resource pooling, collective emergency response and other forms of mutual aid, including a resilience grant program. It will also allow for four brick-and-mortar resilience hubs to provide in-person organizing space. By developing a regional network to improve climate resiliency, the city can protect its most vulnerable residents.

“We’ve all seen and felt the impacts of increasingly extreme weather events in recent years, including catastrophic flooding, tornadoes, and wildfire smoke, and know we need to invest now in climate resiliency efforts, which is why I worked to include this funding in the Inflation Reduction Act,” said Dingell. “This grant will support Ann Arbor’s work preparing to respond to future storms, especially in historically underserved and vulnerable communities.”

“Thanks to the incredible funding support from the U.S. EPA, the City of Ann Arbor is able to take demonstrable steps towards creating a more resilient region by investing in brick and mortar resilience hubs, a regional resilience network, a resilience ambassador program, and so much more,” said Missy Stults, Ann Arbor’s sustainability and innovations director.

“Having the ability to adapt and adjust to the extreme weather and natural disasters caused by climate change is absolutely crucial to protecting vulnerable communities and creating a sustainable future,” said EPA Regional Administrator Debra Shore. “Ann Arbor is on the forefront of this issue and EPA is proud to support this work.”

With this project, the city hopes to develop a model for community-designed resilience hubs and continue to address the impacts of climate change experienced by overburdened and underserved communities. 

For more information about the Environmental Justice Government-to-Government Program, visit EPA’s website.