| Comment | While we are greatful for the opportunity these projects create,
there is widening GAP in the ability of small rural communities to
avail themselves to both the Affordable Housing and Sustainable
Communities as well as the Transformative Climate Communities
programs. This is largely because those programs have very large
match requirements that is not feasible for small disadvantaged
rural communities. We would respectfully request the development
of
smaller grant programs that focus on strategies for rural DACs to
implement these valuable programs on a smaller scale.
Small DACs are subject to multiple socioeconomic and environmental
challenges and cannot compete with larger communities when the
match is set so high yet we are typically burdened by the heaviest
of Ozone/PM pollution, contaminated water, pesticides, and oil
well
contamination. We are the target demographic for these programs,
and I sincerely urge you to create off-shoot programs that are
feasible for small, rural DACs.
In Gratitude,
Christine
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