Our hearts are full during these times as we continue living through a pandemic, continue showing support for our Black relatives, and seeing a continued fight for deconstruction/destruction of nationalistic symbols of colonization. As communities across Turtle Island and across the world denounce colonialism and its effects, CIEA stands in solidarity with Indigenous resistance work as well as those led by other BIPOC communities that are happening currently across the nation with the removal of racist symbols from their pedestals.

We are doing in part within the larger conversation and show support as we celebrate victories of long withstanding fights such as the removal of the Middle Fork Nooksack Dam in Washington, the acknowledgement that Eastern Oklahoma has always been Native land, the shutdown of the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the removal of the Washington Reds***s logo and image all show the success of continued fighting and guidance from our ancestors and future generations.

We have included a link to the Huffington Post's article "Native Americans In California Are Toppling Statues Of This Catholic Saint" in the read more button below, where you can find quotes from Native American Scholars Olivia Chilcote (Luiseño, San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians), Cutcha Risling Baldy (Hupa, Yurok and Karuk, Hoopa Valley Tribe in Northern California), and Angel M. Hinzo (Ho-Chunk, enrolled Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska) within the conversation surrounding California Natives' fight towards removing Junipero Serra's iconography displayed within California "History."

CIEA for Black Liberation and Indigenous Sovereignty!

The CIEA office is physically closed until August 31st as part of the ‘shelter in place’ directive. Of course if the situation changes we will have to adjust our plan. We will continue to work remotely and are available via email and through our phone, our messages are checked daily.

Again, we are so happy to be able to provide you with monthly announcements about training, capacity building, Tribal Self-Advocacy and funding opportunities, as well as water related news. Readers are more than welcome to send information about upcoming events, training, or news that you think would be beneficial for other Tribal members in other regions to know to our Communications and Public Relations Coordinator, Joel Sedano at [log in to unmask]

1. Board Roles & Responsibilities
August 11, 2020 |10 a.m. | Online

2. AB54 & AB240: Ethics for Mutual Company Board Members
August 12, 2020 |10 a.m. | Online

3. Water Well Operation & Maintenance
August 18, 2020 |10 a.m. & 2 p.m.| Online

4. What You Need to Know About the SGMA
August 19, 2020 |10 a.m. & 2 p.m.| Online

To register for any of the online training, please hit the read more button below to be redirected to RCAC's website, where registration can be found.

The purpose of this program is to assist federally recognized tribes and Indian organizations with their public health and emergency management activities supporting the prevention of, preparation for, and response to the ongoing Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) public health emergency. Funds must be used to support activities that effectively contribute to an applicant’s capability to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the COVID-19 health emergency. Priority program activities are:

Reviewing, modifying, and/or executing logistics and enabling contracts to increase capability to stockpile and provide the necessary resources needed to stabilize lifelines such as personal protective equipment (PPE), food, water, and buildout of medical facilities

Modifying evacuation plans to account for limited travel options and increased time needed for health care facilities in a COVID-19 environment

Identifying mass care and shelter options that meet Centers for Disease
Control (CDC) guidance and mitigate risks to communities and the most vulnerable citizens

Emphasizing the collection, analysis, and sharing of data to strengthen decision-support capabilities

Eligible cost categories under this program are planning, organization, equipment, training, management and administration (M&A), emergency response, EOC construction and renovation, maintenance and sustainment (M&S), and indirect costs. Lists of specific cost category activities that may be eligible can be found on pages 5-6 of the NOFA file.

Priority may be given to projects where the Standardized Emergency Management System/National Incident Management System (SEMS/NIMS) is incorporated into the applicant’s emergency management system, and projects with coordination between the applicant and any regional, city, or county entities.

Proposed projects that have the potential to impact the environment must participate in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) / Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) environmental planning and historic preservation (EHP) review process prior to the release of funding.

For more information, please hit the read more button to be redirected to California Grant Portal page.

EUM is based on the Attributes of Effectively Managed Utilities endorsed by EPA and a host of national water Associations. Utilities around the country have used the Effective Utility Management (EUM) framework to do an initial assessment of their current performance and move toward becoming fully sustainable using the EUM Primer.

This webinar will help utilities take the next step beyond the basic EUM assessment and identify and implement proven and effective practices, using a guide called Moving Toward Sustainability: Sustainable and Effective Practices for Creating Your Water Utility Roadmap and implement proven and effective management practices at their utility, where we have placed the link for the pdf below.

https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-11/documents/eum_practices_roadmap_final_508-10-2018.pdf

To register, please hit the read more button below to be redirected to the registration page.

The call for ideas for the 2021 National Brownfields Training Conference is now open!

We invite you to submit your ideas for dynamic educational sessions that encourage conversation and participation from your fellow attendees. A great Brownfields 2021 educational program will motivate brownfields stakeholders to engage, learn, and share their experiences and knowledge of community revitalization challenges and solutions. If you have a brownfields success story or knowledge and experience in brownfields topics, this is your chance to share it with your colleagues.

Please review the instructions, conference topic areas, and the educational session formats, then click below to submit your session proposal for Brownfields 2021 in Oklahoma City. Contact Will Fricke ([log in to unmask]) with questions.

The call for ideas is now open and closes at 11:59pm on August 24th, 2020.

For more information, please hit the read more button below to be redirected to the Brownfields website.

The Common Counsel Foundation and Native Americans in Philanthropy are pleased to announce that the Native Voices Rising (NVR) Fall 2020 grant pool is now open for both donors and potential applicants. NVR is now accepting grant applications. We encourage applications from Native-led groups that have a membership base in the community, work to develop leadership, and take collective action to win progressive social change.

NVR grants awards will average about $25,000 of general support funds, with an expected grant range size of $20,000 to $30,000, to strengthen Native-led organizations in the United States that are improving the lives of their community members. Since inception, NVR has awarded a total of nearly $2M of funding to grassroots, Native-led organizations that are involved in organizing and advocacy. To date, Native Voices Rising has supported over 100 grant partners who are collectively engaging thousands of community members across the country. They focus on a wide range of critical issues, from human and civil rights, to reproductive justice, to environmental health, and sacred sites protection. Including specifically the protection of land, water, and the recognition of Native sovereignty.

Potential grant partners can find application and eligibility guidelines by clicking the read more button below. More information on how to apply can be found at www.NativeVoicesRising.org.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is pleased to announce the release of How’s My Waterway. How's My Waterway is a tool that assembles publicly available water quality data into a user-friendly package that provides information on water quality in our nation’s waters. Map-centric and mobile-friendly, How’s My Waterway works on all different screen sizes—from desktop computers and tablets to mobile phones.

Our goal is that EPA, our partners and the public will use How’s My Waterway to learn about water, explore data and find out what’s happening to improve the health of our waters. The tool provides the public with an easily accessible and understandable summary of water quality at the community-, state- and national-level.

Community: Learn about the health of local waters, identify challenges and learn about what’s being done to restore or protect the waters. Find out more about your drinking water. Discover if waters in your community are suitable for swimming or eating fish and if they support aquatic life.
State: Choose a state to find basic facts about a state’s waters, summaries of specific water assessments, a statewide survey of water quality and state drinking water metrics.
National: Learn about water quality across the nation (lakes, rivers and streams, wetlands and coastal areas) and the main challenges to our water resources nationwide. You will also find information about national drinking water quality and national drinking water metrics.

We hope that you might spend a moment to enter your zip code on How’s My Waterway (https://mywaterway.epa.gov) and explore the waters near you.

Other helpful links:

See the Press Release: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-dynamic-new-water-data-transparency-tool
Background on How’s My Waterway: https://www.epa.gov/waterdata/hows-my-waterway
How’s My Waterway Fact Sheet: https://www.epa.gov/waterdata/hows-my-waterway-fact-sheet



Karen Gude
Tribal Program Coordinator
U.S. EPA/Office of Water
Phone: (202) 564-0831

On June 18, 2020 EPA issued a final action regarding the regulation of perchlorate under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Considering the best available science and the proactive steps that EPA, states and public water systems have taken to reduce perchlorate levels, the agency has determined that perchlorate does not meet the criteria for regulation as a drinking water contaminant under the SDWA. Therefore, the agency is withdrawing the 2011 regulatory determination and is making a final determination to not issue a national regulation for perchlorate at this time.

Perchlorate is commonly used in solid rocket propellants, munitions, fireworks, and airbag initiators for vehicles, matches, and signal flares. Perchlorate may occur naturally, particularly in arid regions such as the southwestern U.S., and can be found as a byproduct in hypochlorite solutions used for treating drinking water and nitrate salts used to produce fertilizers, explosives, and other products.

EPA also performed a new health impact analysis based on recommendations from the Science Advisory Board. The new analysis shows that the concentrations at which perchlorate may present a public health concern are higher than the concentrations considered in the 2011 regulatory determination.

Provided below are fact sheets with information on the declining levels of perchlorate in drinking water and steps water systems can take to address perchlorate in drinking water.

Steps Water Systems Can Take to Address Perchlorate in Drinking Water
Reductions of Perchlorate in Drinking Water (PDF)

For more information, please hit the read more button below to be redirected to the US EPA website.

On June 11, 2020 EPA announced the official launch of the Indian Environmental General Assistance Program (GAP) Success Story National Pilot, highlighting the agency’s efforts to partner with tribes to protect the environment and human health in Indian country. The GAP Success Stories are featured in a web-based application that combines maps with text, images and multimedia elements, known as story maps, allowing the user to visually locate GAP Success Stories across all EPA Regions.

GAP Success Stories
GAP Success Stories (table version)
Press Release

The American Indian Environmental Office, located in EPA’s OITA, worked with tribal and regional staff to conduct a small-scale pilot of a new, national system for collecting and sharing GAP success stories to demonstrate program value, highlight best practices, and support program resiliency. The initial 10 success stories represent tribal programs from across the country that are using GAP to address air, water, and land issues.

Background:

The Indian Environmental General Assistance Program Act, signed by Congress in 1992, authorizes EPA to provide GAP grants to federally recognized tribes and tribal consortia for planning, developing and establishing environmental protection programs in Indian country and for developing and implementing solid and hazardous waste programs on tribal lands. Today, there are approximately 534 GAP grants with tribes and tribal consortia.

For more information, please hit the read button below to be redirected to the US EPA website

The Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA) – who has been very involved in formalizing and providing fiscal management for the Statewide IRWM Roundtable of Regions – along with the Local Government Commission (LGC), and with support from DWR, will be hosting a statewide Virtual Summit, "Ensuring Equitable Engagement in Regional Water Planning."

Please save these dates:

● Thursday, October 8, 8:30-1

● Tuesday, October 13, 8:30-1

● Thursday, October 14, 8:30-1

During the three half-days, there will be exploration of regional strategies for engaging marginalized communities in regional water management as learned through local implementation of the Integrated Regional Water Management (IRWM) Disadvantaged Communities and Tribal Involvement Program.

To receive updates on the Virtual Summit directly, please hit the read more button below to sign up for updates,


Summit website coming soon!