Region 10 Tribal Operations Committee

The World Resources Institute’s Electric School Bus Initiative provides free resources on the school bus electrification process, including a step-by-step guide, a power planner for working with electric utilities, funding information, and a market report/buyer’s guide detailing the electric school bus models on the road today.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Tribal Nations and Native Communities Resource Guide provides resources for Tribal governments and nongovernmental partners to navigate, access, and use clean energy funding opportunities.

The National Indian Health Board (NIHB) has launched the Tribal Environmental Impact Network, a cohort of professionals with experience in issues impacting environmental justice in Indian Country. This network of experts will assist Tribal communities as part of NIHB’s Tribal Environmental Justice Technical Assistance Center (TEJTAC), which provides free technical assistance to Indian country for environmental health and climate justice opportunities benefiting Tribal communities.

EPA has announced the expansion of its Water Technical Assistance (WaterTA) Program, which helps communities identify their water challenges, develop plans, build capacity, and develop application materials. WaterTA will be better equipped to support communities applying for federal infrastructure resources through the agency’s State Revolving Fund programs such as the Clean Water Indian Set-Aside funding.

• Read the press release

Created by a diverse coalition of Tribal communities, project partners, and advisors, The Tribal Resilience Action Database provides access to more than 5,000 climate adaptation actions and community examples tailored to Indigenous values and worldviews.

EPA’s Environmental Resources for Educators website includes lesson plans, teacher guides and online environmental resources on air, climate change, ecosystems, health, waste and more. Here are some recently posted items:

• Nature’s Benefit – The Card Game  (Ecosystems) – Card Game and Guide for Grades 6-12
• Mercury Messes with the Environment (Health) – Activity Book for Grades K-5 
• Electric School Bus Activity Book (Climate Change) – Activity Book for Grades K-5
• Educating Youth About Wasted Food (Waste) – Website for Grades K-12

EPA’s new Environmental Justice Clearinghouse includes resources submitted by agencies from across the federal government, including funding opportunities, screening and mapping tools, and technical assistance.

The Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) requires that no funds made available for a Federal financial assistance program for infrastructure may be obligated for a project unless all of the iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials used in the project are produced in the United States. The Act affects purchasing for many grantees. 

• Read FAQs and view slides from an EPA Brownfields webinar

The Orutsararmiut Native Council’s EPA Environmental Program, along with Woodwell Climate Research Center Permafrost Pathways, invites interested Tribal leaders and Tribal environmental professionals to attend weekly meetings to discuss coordinating water quality monitoring efforts and to bring about successful projects to Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Tribal communities. The meetings are held every Tuesday/Wednesday from 3:00-4:00 Alaska. The mission of the project is to establish shared goals and understand co-stewardship opportunities. The objectives are to: 

• Define a core set of shared environmental monitoring goals and concerns of YK Delta Tribal partners
• Understand potential Tribally led and co-stewardship opportunities for addressing these goals and concerns
• Begin planning a framework for potential Tribally led initiatives. 

Contact Mary Herrera-Matthias at mmatthias@nativecouncil.org for more information.

The National Indian Health Board’s (NIHB) Tribal Environmental Impact Network is a new cohort of professionals with experience in issues impacting environmental justice in Indian Country. These experts will assist NIHB in providing technical assistance to Tribal communities for funding opportunities as part of NIHB’s Tribal Environmental Justice Technical Assistance Center (TEJTAC). The TEJTAC was established to support underserved and overburdened communities addressing environmental and clean energy concerns by increasing access to federal funds. The network is open to professionals who work or have worked on environmental health and environmental justice issues in Indian Country. The network is seeking experts in the areas such as agriculture, air quality, clean energy, climate change, emergency response, environmental health, geology, hydrology, legal services, sanitation, solid waste transportation, and water quality. Compensation for technical assistance services will be provided.

• Apply

Visited EPA Region 10’s Tribal Programs chock-full-of-goodness website lately? Here’s a quick tour to help you find some of or hidden gems:

• The home page features a rotating banner with EPA funding opportunities, upcoming events, and more.
• Learn about EPA Region 10’s Land, Water, and Air & Climate programs.
• Find all things GAP on our Region 10 Indian Environmental General Assistance Program page. Here you can learn about applying for a GAP grant, the role of the Tribal Council, ETEPs, Performance Partnership Grants, Tribal Consortia, and more.
• See our Training and Technical Assistance for Tribes in Region 10 for an entire table of opportunities. If you have a training you’d like to add, please email R10TribalPrograms@epa.gov.
• See the list of Upcoming Consultations on our Consultations and Coordination page.
• Want to find your Project Officer, Grant Specialist, or other EPA staff? Visit our Contact Us page.

On April 10, EPA finalized the first-ever National Drinking Water Regulation for PFAS. Exposure to these forever chemicals has been linked to cancer, impacts on the liver, heart, and immune system, and developmental damage in infants and children.  This final rule will regulate six kinds of PFAS and help to ensure that all Americans have access to clean, safe, drinking waters. In sum:  

• Public water systems must monitor for these PFAS and have three years to complete initial monitoring (by 2027), followed by ongoing compliance monitoring. Water systems must also provide the public with information on PFAS levels in their drinking water beginning in 2027.
• Public water systems have five years (by 2029) to implement solutions that reduce these PFAS if monitoring shows that drinking water levels exceed allowable levels.
• Beginning in five years (2029), public water systems that have PFAS in drinking water that violates one or more of these levels must take action to reduce them and notify the public.

EPA will also invest $1 billion to help states and territories implement PFAS testing and treatment at public water systems and help owners of private wells address PFAS contamination. Note that EPA will distribute the national Tribal allotment of 2% of the appropriations, estimated at $24M in FY22 funding, as an allocation to regions based upon the Drinking Water Infrastructure Grants Tribal Set Aside Program allocation formula. Regional offices will develop the procedures and schedule for annual selection of projects and activities, obligation of funds, or distribution of grants.

• Read the press release
• EPA will host webinars on April 16, 23, and 30 to discuss the new regulation. See Events to register.

Looking for opportunities for youth? EPA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the National Renewable Energy Laboratories, and other federal agencies are recruiting now! You can also search or internships on USA Jobs.”