The East-West Gateway Coordinating Council (EWGCC) is recipient of an EMPACT Metro grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. EMPACT stands for Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking. The EMPACT program supports a limited number of eligible cities in the use of advanced and innovative technologies to monitor environmental conditions and provide and communicate environmental information to the public. The program requires that local partnerships be established to implement the proposal. In metropolitan St. Louis that partnership consists of EWGCC (the regional planning agency), City of East St. Louis, City of St. Louis, East St. Louis Neighborhood Technical Assistance Center, and the St. Louis Development Corporation.

Those interested in more information about the EMPACT program are encouraged to visit the internet (http://www.epa.gov/empact/) or call the Empact Information Voice mailbox (1-800/490-9194) which is located at the EPA's National Center for Environmental Research and Quality Assurance.