This competition is a partnership between EPA, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), and the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA).
On June 21, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced eight prizes: $35,000 for the top four winning teams and $27,500 for the four other winning teams for a total of $250,000 in cash prizes for their recently concluded Small Communities — Big Challenges Prize Competition. Selected projects identified local environmental challenges in rural settings and engaged with their communities to communicate about issues including water quality, indoor air quality, radon levels, food waste, and recycling. The winners are as follows:
- Clay County Health Department, Clay County, WV, for Meeting the Clay County Community Where They Are on Plastic Recycling
- Dunn County Land & Water Conservation Division, Dunn County, WI, for Dunn County, Wisconsin—Groundwater Contamination Study
- Florida Department of Health, Orange County, FL, for Building on Bithlo’s Transformation
- Logan County Health District, Logan County, OH, for COVID-19 Indoor Air Quality in Area School Districts
- Marathon County Conservation Planning and Zoning Department, Marathon County, WI, for Using the “Marathon Method” to Tackle Elevated Nitrates in Municipal Drinking Water Supplies
- Oconto County Public Health, Oconto County, WI, for Radon Testing in the North Woods—What is That? I Could Have That?
- Whatcom County Health and Community Services, Whatcom, WA, for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Foothills Region Through Creative Food Recovery “Freedges”
- Whitman County Public Health, Whitman County, WA, for 2023 Lower Snake River HAB Response
Additionally, one representative from each of the teams will receive a one-year NEHA membership. You can now read and learn from the winning submissions and supporting materials posted here.
About the Competition: The Small Communities, Big Challenges competition, representing local governments across five states, presents innovative and unique strategies for engaging with their rural communities to identify environmental and public health needs of importance to the community. This engagement addresses longstanding needs because rural communities often do not receive as much support as more populous, urban communities and they also experience, across all ethnic and racial groups, a significantly higher poverty rate than urban America. Read the EPA press release.
