EPA announces $13 million in funding for Arizona tribes' environmental initiatives

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently pledged $13 million for a range of environmental initiatives conducted by and for tribes in Arizona, more than half of which is dedicated to improving water quality.
 
The funding will build upon previous success of Arizona tribes, allowing them to develop and sustain environmental protection programs. Of the $13 million in funding, $4.7 million will go towards projects like connecting two existing drinking water systems and upgrading the arsenic treatment system protecting 73 tribal homes on the Tohono O’odham Nation Reservation. The remaining funding will go towards projects promoting water quality.
 
“Tribes continue to make great strides in environmental protection and improving public health,” Alexis Strauss, the EPA’s acting regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest, said. “This year, EPA is supporting water quality projects and water infrastructure for Arizona tribes with over $8 million in funding.”
 
The Indian Health Service will receive $4.5 million of that figure, which it will use to improve water infrastructure for tribes in Arizona and to provide training and technical assistance to drinking water and wastewater plant operators. An additional $3.7 million will be used by the tribes for projects to promote water and energy efficiency and to monitor, protect and restore local watersheds, amongst other initiatives.