EPA Awards Nearly $500,000 to Texas Community Group to Monitor Air Quality in Houston Area

On November 29, 2023, EPA awarded $498,813 to the community group Achieving Community Tasks Successfully (ACTS) to monitor harmful air pollutants that pose health and environmental concerns for local communities. The grant empowers communities to learn about pollution standards while taking action to create a healthier environment. It allows ACTS to conduct monitoring of hazardous air pollution and to interact more directly with local, state, and federal agencies. In the project’s first year, ACTS will establish a mobile air monitoring campaign to address community exposures to air toxics using low-cost sensors, analytic, and visualization tools. In later years, the funds will address environmental injustices in communities in Houston disproportionately affected by pollution from nearby landfills and advance climate justice and equity through collaborative data-driven solutions. The funding is provided through IRA section 60105, which appropriated $230 million for air pollution research and grants for air pollution monitoring.