SPOKANE, Wash.- A joint effort between the Washington State Department of Commerce and the Department of Health will create a new committee for advancing environmental and racial equity.
The new advisory group will assist the state agencies in allocating grant funding. The commission will be involved with several major public health funding pools, including a $26.3 million Healthy Environment for All grant and a $38.6 million Decarbonization and Climate Resilience grant.
The Department of Commerce will also involve the committee in discerning the allocation of $145 million in grant funding offered by the Energy Division and State Energy Office.
The Department of Health says that the purpose of creating the committee is to better connect state resources to the constituents who will be utilizing them.
“We are looking for deeper community involvement by having community members engage in the design and evaluation of the grant applications for funds that will advance environmental justice in communities throughout Washington,” the Department of Health said.
In the public listing soliciting members, the agencies request participants who have both personal and professional experience with social and environmental justice issues.
“We are especially looking for people with experience in qualitative, participatory methods and with an equity and anti-racist lens to ensure we have diverse perspectives,” the Department of Health said.
Given the significant amount of money tied into the committee’s advisory role, several Spokane stakeholders could be impacted by the decisions of the group. The application was shared via Facebook by the Spokane NAACP.
Those who are selected to participate in the advisory effort will receive $75 hourly for their work, and will meet over zoom. The application window closes on Feb. 12, and can be found here.
