The Environmental Protection Agency is soliciting feedback from communities and their partners on the design and focus of projects that should be awarded under the Environmental and Climate Justice program.

The request for information precedes a notice of funding opportunity that EPA intends to launch in the summer, leveraging $2 billion in ECJ program grants, the agency said Thursday.

The Inflation Reduction Act provides EPA with $3 billion in funding for ECJ projects. To maximize the program’s benefits, the agency is seeking information on the best approaches to its design, grantee eligibility, application process, technical assistance and reporting oversight.

“EPA is committed to using Inflation Reduction Act funding to make significant investments in the health, equity, and resilience of all communities and to address past, current, and future environmental and climate justice challenges,” said Marianne Engelman-Lado, acting principal deputy assistant administrator for the EPA Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights. “This Request for Information allows us to hear from communities and their partners on how our grant programs can work better for the communities that need this support the most.”

EPA will accept public input on the ECJ program until March 17.

The Department of Energy has begun seeking industry comments on the establishment of a new foundation that will aim to raise and invest funds to accelerate the development of clean energy technologies.

The Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation will help facilitate public-private partnerships, invest in clean energy technology manufacturers and promote inclusion of underrepresented groups in DOE funding programs, the department said Thursday.

Authorized under the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, FESI will be DOE’s first ever agency-related foundation and will be tasked with engaging with the philanthropic communities and private sector partners to boost the commercialization of existing and future clean energy technologies.

“This first-of-its-kind foundation will serve as a critical new partner to the Department in our efforts to strengthen American ingenuity and deliver the technologies of the future so critical to an equitable clean energy economy,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

DOE is seeking comments from national laboratory foundations, potential investors, industry stakeholders and other potential collaborators.

Responses gathered from the request for information will be used to inform DOE’s efforts to establish FESI by September 2023.

The Department of Homeland Security has joined the United States Global Change Research Program, a Congress-mandated alliance that uses science to address evolving environmental conditions that impact government missions.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will represent DHS in the program for a two-year term, contributing information on climate change research, DHS said Thursday.

USGCRP was formed in 1989 and is comprised of 14 agencies including the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, NASA and the Smithsonian Institution. DHS became its latest member after nearly 20 years.

As USGCRP delegate, FEMA will coordinate with other components of DHS, including the Science and Technology Directorate, U.S. Coast Guard, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The S&T Directorate will step in when FEMA finishes its term.

“To address the evolving challenges we face, we are constantly looking to build greater cohesion both within the federal government and outside of it,” said Alejandro Mayorkas, DHS secretary and a previous Wash100 Award recipient. “DHS’s membership on the USGCRP is part of that critical effort and supports our enduring mission to safeguard the homeland.”       

A Raytheon Technologies subsidiary will deliver air-to-ground munitions kits and related equipment to the government of Singapore under a potential $55 million foreign military sales agreement approved by the U.S. Department of State.

Raytheon Missile and Defense will serve as the principal contractor on the proposed deal that includes the provision of joint direct attack munition tail kits and munitions, laser guidance sets, spare parts and support equipment, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Thursday.

Singapore also requests aircraft and munitions support, personnel training and training equipment and technical and logistics services.

DSCA said the foreign buyer will use the requested articles and services to boost its national defense capabilities and support coalition operations.

The agency noted that the potential FMS deal does not require the deployment of U.S. government or contractor representatives to Singapore.