Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) announced $5.8 million in environmental and water infrastructure funding to 18 Nevada tribes awarded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“The EPA is one of our most important federal agencies, and its grants help ensure that tribal communities have clean air and safe drinking water,” said Cortez Masto. “I’m thankful that, even with the Trump Administration’s vicious attacks on the EPA and its staff, Nevada’s tribes will continue to receive the funding they need to ensure that their land and water is clean and free of contaminants.”
BACKGROUND:
EPA awarded $5.8 million to tribes in Nevada for water quality monitoring, watershed protection and restoration, water and energy efficiency, and wastewater recycling and treatment. Tribes in Nevada will also use EPA funding to clean up open dumps, develop programs to monitor, protect and improve air quality, and build public awareness of these efforts.
Examples of work being funded:
The Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation will use $182,221 to plan, develop and implement environmental protection programs, including education and outreach on recycling to tribal members.
The Yomba Tribe will use $174,998 to manage environmental programs, clean up a dump site, develop an emergency management plan, and conduct research on a transfer station for recycled materials.
The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe will use $203,200 to model and evaluate the impact of Truckee River nutrient loads on Pyramid Lake’s water quality, ecology and trophic status. Funds will also support the cleanup and closure of three illegal dump sites and assess the operations of several transfer stations to reduce illegal dumping.
EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region is home to 148 tribal nations and contains half of all tribal lands nationwide.
For more information, please visit https://www.epa.gov/tribal/region-9-tribal-program