Achieving Community Tasks Successfully (ACTS), a local nonprofit, has secured nearly $500,000 in federal funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a pioneering three-year program. The initiative aims to monitor and enhance air quality in Houston’s Greater Area through the state’s inaugural community-led air monitoring network.
The program, focusing on neighborhoods like the Fifth Ward, Galena Park, Pleasantville, and Sunnyside, will employ low-cost sensors, analytic tools, and visualization techniques.
Key goals include a mobile air-monitoring campaign, community surveys, and outreach projects. The effort seeks to broaden air-monitoring coverage, enhance understanding of urban air toxics, educate residents on pollution impacts, and create a community-owned data repository. The grant follows Environment Texas naming Harris County the top gas-powered lawn equipment emissions polluter in the U.S., emphasizing the urgency of addressing air toxics’ adverse health effects.
