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DEQ is awarded $250K grant
The Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality’s Division of Environmental Quality has been awarded a pollution prevention grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the amount of $250,000. Award notification was made on Aug. 18, 2016.
This is a two-year competitive grant that supports state programs or projects that significantly reduce the environmental impacts of local businesses.
BECQ’s intention with the grant will be to adopt innovative environmental strategies or solutions that can measurably reduce pollution from air, water and/or land. Funding from this grant will allow BECQ to create a guidance document for developers that establishes a basis for construction and operation requirements within conditions of BECQ’s permitting process.
With the CNMI’s current growth in commercial development and increasing waste management challenges, now is a critical time to identify the need for green building designs and environmentally friendly business practices and incorporate them into our permitting process. All this can be attained while improving the quality, cost, and performance of developments and most importantly reducing anthropogenic impacts to the sensitive island ecosystem. (BECQ)
