The City of Tacoma has recently been awarded a grant totaling $667,500 to bolster its efforts in ameliorating air quality for its most pollution-afflicted communities. The financial support originates from the Washington State Department of Ecology’s Air Quality in Overburdened Communities Program. It is part of the broader funding from the state's Climate Commitment Act (CCA), which aims to address the climate crisis by reducing pollution, generating employment, and enhancing the public health landscape.
The State's Department of Ecology has pinpointed sixteen communities across Washington that bear the disproportionate weight of health, socio-economic, and environmental disparities, further exacerbated by air pollution in the form of ozone and fine particulates. In an attempt to alleviate the burden on these areas and the participating tribes, grant funds have been appropriated to tackle the air quality issues these neighborhoods face.
Tacoma's slice of the grant pie is earmarked for two initiatives: the distribution of approximately 450 electric bike vouchers and 350 air purifiers. The details of these programs are still in the finalization stages, with a spring initiation on the horizon. To add to these efforts, in a move coalescing with the state Department of Transportation's upcoming WE-Bike initiative—an e-bike instant rebate program—a top-up rebate will be offered exclusively to Tacoma citizens residing in the abovementioned overburdened communities, according to the City of Tacoma.
