Environmental Injustice and the Impact of the Increased Frequency of Extreme Weather Events on People with Disabilities | NCD 22 01

Opportunity Information: Apply for NCD 22 01

This funding opportunity from the National Council on Disability (NCD) supports a single cooperative agreement to produce NCD's statutorily required 2022 progress report focused on climate change, environmental injustice, and the growing burden these forces place on people with disabilities in the United States and its territories. Grounded in the federal direction set by Executive Orders 13990 (public health, environment, and science-based climate response) and 14030 (climate-related risk), the project is meant to contribute practical, evidence-based analysis that helps the federal government and other decision-makers improve resilience and protect public health, specifically for disability communities that are too often left out of planning and response.

The core problem the report must address is that people with disabilities are disproportionately harmed as extreme weather events become more frequent and more intense, and as long-standing environmental inequities remain unresolved. The opportunity frames environmental injustice as a pattern where marginalized communities, including people living in poverty and many racial and ethnic minority groups, are excluded from environmental decision-making or are more heavily exposed to hazards like pollution, toxic waste, and unsafe living conditions. Because disability intersects strongly with income, race, ethnicity, geography, and age, the report is expected to show how risk compounds: for example, people with disabilities are more likely to be low-income and therefore more likely to live in areas near pollution sources, or to be unable to relocate when disasters strike.

The description highlights several real-world examples to illustrate the stakes. It points to the experience of Puerto Rico, where repeated natural disasters over decades have contributed to economic hardship and subsequent migration to the mainland United States. NCD notes that this out-migration has ripple effects, such as shortages of doctors and educators and a weakened tax base, which can further reduce access to services for residents who remain, including many people with disabilities who may not have the resources to leave. It also references Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, when widespread power failures affected millions and left many Texans with disabilities without electricity for extended periods, creating direct health threats when medications spoiled and electrically powered breathing devices or mobility equipment could not be used. The opportunity also flags the challenges in states like California where wildfire-related shutoffs and outages are recurrent, underscoring how power dependence can turn a weather emergency into a life-threatening disability access crisis.

A major theme of the requested work is the link between environmental injustice and disability prevalence, particularly in communities of color and Indigenous communities. The opportunity notes that pollution, unsafe working conditions, and environmentally destructive industries do not just worsen health in the short term; they can cause permanent disabilities. It points to research connecting proximity to hazardous waste sites with congenital defects, with especially strong associations reported among Native American populations, and it notes ongoing concerns such as lead contamination from mining waste. It also emphasizes that environmental harms have sometimes been imposed during planning processes with little or no input from affected tribal communities, and it cites disability prevalence data indicating American Indian and Alaska Native communities experience higher disability rates than the general population. In Alaska, the description highlights climate-driven displacement of coastal Native communities facing sea level rise, storm surges, and flooding, with consequences for cultural integrity and access to resources.

The deliverable is a report that documents and explains how climate-driven extreme weather and environmental injustice affect people with disabilities across key domains of daily life. The report is expected to identify primary issues tied to natural disasters and longer-term environmental change, including impacts on health and health care access, housing stability and options, employment and job opportunities, education and training, and the ability to access and participate in the community. It must also examine practical emergency-related disruptions that hit disability communities hard, such as higher evacuation needs, barriers during evacuations, and the effects of prolonged power outages. Food security, safe drinking water, sanitation, and access to medicines and services are repeatedly called out as essential areas where disasters and slow-onset environmental degradation can create severe, cascading harms.

The opportunity lays out six research questions, explicitly approached through the lens of disability rights laws. These questions ask how extreme weather and environmental injustice affect (1) health and health care access, (2) community access, (3) housing, (4) employment, (5) access to food, fresh water, and sanitation, and (6) what actions can be taken to mitigate the problems identified. A key expectation is that the report does not treat disability as a single, uniform experience. Instead, it must address intersectionality, meaning it should explain how overlapping identities and conditions (such as disability plus race, ethnicity, income level, or geography) shape exposure to environmental harm and influence whether someone can access resources needed to prepare for, respond to, or recover from disasters.

Administratively, the opportunity is a discretionary funding action issued by NCD as Funding Opportunity Number NCD 22 01, using a cooperative agreement structure, which typically implies substantial federal involvement or collaboration during the project. It is open eligibility (unrestricted regarding applicant type, subject to any additional clarifications in the official notice). NCD expected to make one award, with an award ceiling of $185,000, and a project period of 8 months. The overarching outcome NCD is seeking is a data-driven, policy-relevant progress report that documents the disproportionate impacts on people with disabilities and provides actionable recommendations to reduce harm from both environmental injustice and the accelerating pattern of extreme weather events.

• The National Council on Disability in the other (see text field entitled explanation of other category of funding activity for clarification) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Environmental Injustice and the Impact of the Increased Frequency of Extreme Weather Events on People with Disabilities" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 92.002.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 29, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Nov 08, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $185,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for NCD 22 01

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