TOP STORIES

National Tribal Forum on Air Quality Has Been Cancelled

On Friday, March 13, 2020, the National Tribal Air Association (NTAA), along with others from EPA and the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals, held an emergency call and made the decision to cancel the 2020 National Tribal Forum on Air Quality, originally scheduled for May 25-28, 2020. This decision was made in light of the many Tribes across the country who have instituted travel bans for staff, and based on the recent guidance offered by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization, to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The NTAA will continue to host national conference calls and webinars in service to its mission to support Tribal Air Quality Programs across the country. Conference cancellations are widespread, as this article in E&E News highlights, and mentions the cancellation of NTFAQ.

Resources for Protection from COVID-19

The EPA has published an expanded list of disinfectant products that are qualified for use against COVID-19. The American Lung Association has published an update titled Protecting Yourself during the Spread of the Coronavirus or COVID-19.

EPA’s Transparency in Science Supplemental Proposal published in the Federal Register today. NTAA will be publishing a Policy Resource Kit for Tribes to use to respond to the proposal that can be found here.

HEADLINES

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes

E&E News – Science Advisory Board to review methane, water rules

Ensia – Opinion: Scientists Must Learn How to Interact with Indigenous People

E&E News – EPA won’t tighten asphalt emission standards

EPA – EPA to Review Lead Ambient Air Standards

The Hill – Adviser behind controversial EPA policies returns as agency chief of staff

High Country News – ‘This system cannot be sustained’

Science Daily – Air pollution is one of the world’s most dangerous health risks

NPR – China’s Efforts to Control Coronavirus Lead to Less Air Pollution

Washington Post – The coronavirus is deadly enough. But some experts wonder if bad air makes it worse.

AZ Central – Tribal and local activist air concerns about Resolution copper mine at Oak Flat for congressional subcommittee

National Association of Clean Air Agencies – Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

Grist – Why don’t we treat climate change like an infectious disease?

NY Times – Social Distancing? You Might Be Fighting Climate Change, Too

Fortune – 5 charts projecting the cost of climate change by 2100

NPR – A Checkup on California’s Efforts to Combat Climate Change

NPR – Is Failure To Prepare For Climate Change A Crime?

Ensia – Does This Tiny Island Off the Coast of Maine Hold the Answer to the Future of Electricity?

E&E News – COVID-19 mimics climate catastrophe at ‘warp speed’

E&E News – Coronavirus and the U.S. grid: What to know

Cronkite News – Climate change already is diminishing the Colorado River, U.S. researchers find

Toxics/Mobile Sources

Green Car Congress – Emissions analytics finds pollution from tire wear can be 1,000x worse than exhaust emissions

Inside EV’s – Emissions-Free Future: A Look at the Appeal & Hesitation around EVs

Indoor Air Quality

E&E News – EPA denies request for leniency for wood stove standards

Be sure to subscribe to EPA’s IAQ Bulletins

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The NTAA Comments on the White House Council on Environmental Quality’s Proposal to Update its NEPA Implementing Regulations

The NTAA submitted comments on March 10, 2020, on the CEQ’s proposal to update the NEPA implementing regulations. This is in addition to the fact sheet, Tribal template letter, and webinar that the NTAA published as part of this Policy Resource Kit on our website.

The NTAA Wants Your Input!

The NTAA will be sending out a draft document to compile tribal national priorities regarding air quality programs. Be on the lookout in your inbox for this document! If you do not receive it by Monday, March 16, please contact [email protected].

HEADLINES

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes

NPR – Students Want To Fix Air Quality For People With Asthma On The Yakama Reservation

The Hill – Experts warn EPA making ‘secret science’ rule more restrictive

NY Times – E.P.A. Updates Plan to Limit Science Used in Environmental Rules

Native Sun News – Tohono O’odham demand end to blasting of sacred sites for border wall

National Association of Clean Air Agencies – Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

Indian Country Today – Clean energy produced on Navajo land could help power Los Angeles

The Guardian – Carbon emissions fall as electricity producers move away from coal

Anchorage Daily News – UBS bank won’t finance new offshore Arctic oil and gas projects

Native News Online – Wells Fargo Becomes Latest Bank to Halt Arctic Oil and Gas Projects

E&E News – ‘Tandem solar cell’ could slash industry costs

E&E News – ‘Remarkable leap.’ Va. backs 100% carbon-free electricity

NPR – Oil Prices, Stocks Plunge After Saudi Arabia Stuns World With Massive Discounts

ENN – Growing Nitrogen Footprint Threatens Our Air, Water and Climate

ENN – Habitat at Risk for Snow-Dependent Organisms

Toxics/Mobile Sources

Los Angeles Times – Taking an Uber or Lyft pollutes more than driving, California finds. Next stop: Regulations

NPR – States Take The Wheel Promoting Electric Vehicles

Gizmodo – The Coronavirus Outbreak Has Airlines Running Empty ‘Ghost’ Flights

NY Times – Coronavirus Could Slow Efforts to Cut Airlines’ Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Utility Dive – Electric refuse trucks on the road or on the way in rising number of states

Biz Journals – Maid of the Mist honoring Glynn, Tesla with electric boats

Indoor Air Quality

Kamath Falls News – Assistance for wood stove change out now available

Willamette Week – Air Pollution From Oregon Woodstoves Rival That From Wildfires

Be sure to subscribe to EPA’s IAQ Bulletins

TOP STORIES

The Voices of Grand Canyon

Read, listen, watch, and learn in this story map about the native people of the Grand Canyon region. Jim Enote (Zuni), Nikki Cooley (Navajo), Leigh Kuwanwisiwma (Hopi), Coleen Kaska, (Havasupai), and Loretta Jackson-Kelly (Hualapai) share what the Grand Canyon means to them and what they know in their hearts to be true.

Indian Country Today – Tribes ‘cannot afford to lose’ the National Environmental Policy Act

Editor’s Note: The NTAA has posted a Policy Resource Kit, including a Tribal Template Letter, to aid your Tribe in commenting on the NEPA proposed changes. Comments are due into the White House by March 10, 2020.

Deadline for submitting proposals for the NTFAQ has been extended to March 20, 2020

The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals and the National Tribal Air Association invite you to submit a proposal to present or conduct a session during the upcoming National Tribal Forum on Air Quality, scheduled for May 27-29, 2020 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The deadline for submitting proposals has been extended to March 20, 2020! We accept requests from tribal organizations, federal and local government agencies, colleges and universities, and other public and private sector representatives working in the field of air quality. In addition to traditional presentations or panel sessions, we encourage proposals with interactive elements, including demonstrations, roundtable discussions, listening sessions, workshopping opportunities, educational activities, special caucuses or other stakeholder meetings. To submit a request to present, or for more details on options, please visit this link.

EPA Announces Supplement to Science Transparency Proposed Rule

The NTAA commented on the original proposal, Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science, on August 13, 2018. Once this supplement is published in the Federal Register, there will be a 30 day comment period. The NTAA will be publishing a Fact Sheet, Tribal Template Letter, and Comment Letter as quickly as possible. Stay tuned!

HEADLINES

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes

The Hill – Lawmakers grill EPA chief over push to slash agency’s budget

Inside Climate News – Breathing Polluted Air Shortens People’s Lives by an Average of 3 Years, a New Study Finds

US News – US Judge Cancels Oil and Gas Leases on Some Sage Grouse Land

PRNewswire – OG&E announces new solar projects with Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes; solar energy centers to be built in Davis and Durant, Oklahoma

EPA – EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler Calls for Applications to Develop and Implement National Environmental Education Training Program

Native Sun News – LaCreek, Pass Creek vote to accept KXL Pipeline money

Indian Country Today – Tribal leader: Border wall is ‘needlessly destructive’

Indian Country Today – Pebble Mine is on the ‘fast track’

Yes Magazine – Indigenous Blockades Don’t Just Decry Destruction – They Affirm Life

ENN – CO2 Tracking in Space

Daily Herald – Doctor’s orders: Does air pollution cause depression?

Gizmodo – China’s Air Pollution Rates Plummet after Coronavirus Lockdown

National Association of Clean Air Agencies – Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

Utility Dive – Spending more on renewables ‘inappropriate,’ as technology is already viable: DOE Secretary

Grist – What would it take to get more farmers fighting climate change?

Reuters – Canada’s Trudeau to seek industry, indigenous input to define climate plan

WPR – Dairy State: Cheese Producers Wrestle with Climate Change amid Already Struggling Industry

Omaha World Herald – Will simple economics deal fatal blow to long-delayed Keystone XL pipeline?

The Guardian – Vital COP26 climate talks could be derailed by coronavirus

NPR – Better Late Than Never? Big Companies Scramble to Make Lofty Climate Promises

Ensia – 3 Ways to tell if Corporations are Genuine about Fighting Climate Change

NPR – Alaska Feels the Brunt as Investors Promise Retreat on Fossil Fuels

Indian Country Today – Scientists have long warned about link between pandemics and climate change

Yes Magazine – An Aspirational Vision of Life after Fossil Fuels

NY Times – Oil Industry Tool to Spare Polar Bears Is More Miss than Hit

NY Times – How a Trump Insider Embeds Climate Denial in Scientific Research

Toxics/Mobile Sources

US EPA – Agency Releases Annual Automotive Trends Report Showing Marginal Increases in Fuel Economy

Bloomberg – China’s Megacity Drivers Leading New Push to Cheap EV Batteries

NPR – Citing Climate Commitments, U.K. Court Blocks New Runway at Heathrow Airport

Reveal News – EPA scientists found a toxic chemical damages fetal hearts. The Trump White House rewrote their assessment.

Indoor Air Quality

Be sure to subscribe to EPA’s IAQ Bulletins

TOP STORIES

The National Tribal Air Association is hiring a Program Coordinator!

NTAA is seeking a Program Coordinator to help NTAA’s Staff and Executive Committee achieve NTAA’s mission. NTAA was founded in 2002 with a mission to advance air quality management policies and programs, consistent with the needs, interests, and unique legal status of American Indian Tribes and Alaska Natives. NTAA is administered by the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) at Northern Arizona University and is the recipient of a three-year cooperative agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agreement.

Click here to visit NAU’s careers website to complete your application. The job is posted until 11:59 pm on February 13, 2020, so be sure to get your application in by then! Contact Andy Bessler at [email protected] with any questions

DIRECTIONS:

1. Select the link to access our careers site.
2. Sign In to access your account or if you are not an existing user select the New User link to create one.
3. Review the job description and select the Apply button to begin your application.

NTAA Publishes a Fact Sheet on the Cleaner Trucks Initiative

The EPA’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking titled “Control of Air Pollution from New Motor Vehicles: Heavy-Duty Engine Standards” (also known as the Cleaner Trucks Initiative, or CTI) was published in the Federal Register with a comment deadline of February 20, 2020. The NTAA has published a Fact Sheet to help Tribes understand this issue and develop comments. The NTAA will also publish a Tribal template letter prior to the comment deadline.

HEADLINES

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes

CNN – Even short-term exposure to low levels of air pollution can increase risk of cardiac arrest

Ensia – As Tensions Rise along the U.S.-Mexico Border, Cross-Border Ecosystems Suffer

Indian Country Today – Trump pushes for uranium production near Grand Canyon

Indianz – The Revelator: Residents of small town derail fracking operation

High Country News – The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians celebrates federal recognition

ENN – Bats Inspire Detectors to Help Prevent Oil and Gas Pipe Leaks

National Association of Clean Air Agencies – Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

Vox – Tree planting is Trump’s politically safe new climate plan

Ensia – Opinion: Two Decades Ago Climate Communication Missed a Huge Opportunity. We Can’t Afford to Let That Happen Again.

High Country News – Tom Udall: It’s past time we confront the climate and nature crises

NY Times – Temperatures at a Florida-Size Glacier in Antarctica Alarm Scientists

NY Times – 3 Easy Ways to Save Energy without Extra Effort

CarbonBrief – Tropical forests losing ability to absorb CO2, study says

ENN – Immune Systems Not Prepared for Climate Change

Quartz – Get ready for a year of climate emergency declarations

Arizona Daily Sun – Petition pushes Flagstaff City Council to pass climate emergency resolution

Toxics/Mobile Sources

EPA – EPA Advances New Initiative to Reduce Polluting Emissions from Trucks in Arizona

Utility Dive – At a crossroads: The connected future of EVs, solar, energy storage and software

Indoor Air Quality

The Guardian – Give council’s powers to tackle indoor air pollution, experts urge

Be sure to subscribe to EPA’s IAQ Bulletins

TOP STORIES

Seeking nominations for Alaska’s Alternate Representative on the National Tribal Air Association Executive Committee!

The nomination deadline has been extended to February 14, 2020

For more information on this opportunity, please contact Kayla Krauss at [email protected], Ann Wyatt (NTAA’s current Alaska representative) at 907-755-2265 or [email protected], or Andy Bessler at 928-523-0526 or [email protected].

NTAA is producing two new Policy Resource Kits for Tribes to use to respond to important policy proposals.

Public comment periods are open for EPA’s proposed Cleaner Trucks Initiative until February 20, 2020 and for the White House Council on Environmental Quality’s Proposal to update its NEPA Implementing Regulations, comments are due by March 10, 2020. Please visit NTAA’s Policy Resource Kit page for more information.

HEADLINES

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes

The Hill – More than 320 groups seek more time to comment on Trump environmental law changes

EPA – EPA proposes to approve Utah’s regional haze plan

The Hill – One-third of Americans experienced poor air quality due to pollution in 2018: study

NPR – Trump Administration Cuts Back Federal Protections for Streams and Wetlands

EPA – EPA and Army Deliver on President Trump’s Promise to Issue the Navigable Waters Protection Rule – a New Definition of WOTUS

Science Daily – Air pollution in New York City linked to wildfires hundreds of miles away

Science Daily – High air pollution exposure in 1-year-olds linked to structural brain changes at age 12

City Metric – Here’s why air pollution affects mental health

AP News – Navajo lawmakers opt for smaller buffer around national park

National Association of Clean Air Agencies – Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

AZ Central – Navajo look to Arizona utilities to make up for coal losses

E&E News – Grid congestion costs billions, stymies renewables

Indian Country Today – Navajo coal plant is the next to close; the end of an industry

Forbes – The Pacific Ocean Is So Acidic That It’s Dissolving Dungeness Crabs

Yes Magazine – The Time for Postponing Climate Action Is Over

Yes Magazine – Strength from Grief: How Aboriginal People Experience the Bushfire Crisis

Utility Dive – NYC’s roofs are getting a sustainable makeover, but is green or solar better?

Folio – Four ways climate change is affecting our health – and what we can do about it

The Hill – EPA fails to provide scientific evidence backing claim climate change damage was ’50 to 75 years out’

Toxics/Mobile Sources

AP – Trump ups mileage proposal, but it’s well below Obama plan

Cheddar – Steer Car Subscription Service Trying to Reduce Barriers to Electric Vehicles, Says CEO

E&E News – World’s largest renewable developer bets on EVs

Utility Dive – Automakers: New tech, battery advances will curb EV range anxiety

Air Quality News – Electrification of waste collection vehicles could improve localized air pollution

Indoor Air Quality

Lexology – Air Quality: Government urged to bring in radical indoor air quality legislation

Be sure to subscribe to EPA’s IAQ Bulletins

TOP STORIES

Save the Date for the 2020 National Tribal Forum on Air Quality (NTFAQ)!

          This year’s annual conference will be held on May 27-29, 2020 in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the River Spirit Hotel and Casino. The 2020 NTFAQ host Tribe is the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. The NTFAQ provides environmental professionals from tribes, EPA, and other organizations an opportunity to meet and discuss current policies, regulatory initiatives, and technical topics in air quality. The NTFAQ is a cooperative endeavor co-sponsored by The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) and the National Tribal Air Association (NTAA), made possible by funding from US EPA and our generous sponsors. Online registration will start in February so check back on ITEP’s website!

NTAA Chairman Discusses Indoor Air Quality on Native America Calling

In case you missed Tuesday’s broadcast of the radio show, Native America Calling, NTAA Chairman Wilfred J. Nabahe was joined by EPA’s Dave Rowson and former EPA staff and IAQ expert Priyanka Pathak were all on the hour-long show to speak about IAQ in Indian Country. You can listen to the broadcast on the Native America Calling home page.

Federal Register Publication Notice: EPA’s Cleaner Trucks Initiative — Advance Notice of Proposed Rule

The EPA’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rule (ANPR) titled “Control of Air Pollution from New Motor Vehicles: Heavy-Duty Engine Standards” has been published in the Federal Register. Please note that the 30-day comment period for this ANPR began Monday, January 21, 2020, and all comments must be submitted on or before February 20, 2020. The EPA websites, ANPR: Control of Air Pollution from New Motor Vehicles: Heavy-Duty Engine Standards

and Cleaner Trucks Initiative will be updated, replacing the earlier “pre-publication” version of the ANPR with the official version in the link above. The NTAA will be submitting a request for comment extension as well as developing a Policy Resource Kit.

HEADLINES

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes

NPR – Elk Raise Tensions Between Tribes And Farmers In Washington’s Skagit Valley

EPA – EPA Grant Will Support Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma’s Environmental Programs

Native Sun News – Town okays water for KXL: tribes hold out

Phys.org – Chemists find fungal shrapnel in the air

Illinois News Bureau – New study examines mortality costs of air pollution in US

National Association of Clean Air Agencies – Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

AZ Central – APS will eliminate carbon emissions by 2050 and close coal plant ahead of schedule, CEO says

Utility Dive – Proposed 2.2 GW storage project plans to use Navajo coal station power-lines

Indian Country Today – Beyond coal: Building out solar

Native News Online – Navajo Nation Announces Solar Partnership With Salt River Project

Rolling Stone – America’s Radioactive Secret

E&E News – Regulator nixes NEPA reviews for plutonium production

NPR – Microsoft Pledges to Remove From the Atmosphere All the Carbon It Has Ever Emitted

NPR – Kids’ Climate Case ‘Reluctantly’ Dismissed By Appeals Court

E&E News – Closing the ozone hole helped slow polar warming

E&E News – Land battles threaten wind, solar build-out – report

E&E News – LNG plant explosion raises concerns about federal oversight

Indian Country Today – ‘Climate change is happening now, and we are seeing the effects of it’

NY Times – Climate Change Takes Center Stage in Davos

Utility Dive – 2020 Outlook: Renewables, resilience and reliability needs will drive storage

The Guardian – Study finds shock rise in levels of potent greenhouse gas

Toxics/Mobile Sources

EPA – EPA visit to Navajo Shippers highlights Cleaner Trucks Initiative and Colorado trucking community’s leadership on clean air

NY Times – China Says It Will Ban Plastics That Pollute Its Land and Water

NY Times – I Quit Cars

AZ Daily Sun – Why cutting car and truck emissions is so hard

Ogden Standard Examiner – Utah doctors’ group sues another vehicle business over air pollution

Indoor Air Quality

Science Daily – School indoor air quality cannot be reliably assessed based on pupils’ symptoms

Fatherly – The Air in Your Home Is Making Your Family Sick. Here’s what to do about it.

KVOE – Attorney General wants to add vaping provisions to Clean Indoor Air Act

Be sure to subscribe to EPA’s IAQ Bulletins

TOP STORIES

Native News Online – Tribal Leaders Hope Large South Dakota Solar Project Becomes Model for Others

Green Transportation Summit & Expo and the West Coast Collaborative Partners Meeting April 13-15, 2020

The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) and the Green Transportation Summit & Expo (GTSE) have partnered to provide 25 complimentary full-conference passes to the Green Transportation Summit & Expo in Tacoma this April 13-15. The GTSE is the Pacific Northwest’s premier clean fleet and transportation event, focusing on fleets, fuels, technologies, policy & practice, with a regional focus and a national scope. We will provide you the opportunity to see, touch, drive, and learn about new transportation technologies firsthand, such as electric, hydrogen, natural gas and propane-powered heavy-duty vehicles, off-road utility vehicles, generators, and others. Workshops on DERA, VW funding, other federal funding opportunities, and alternative fuels will be presented. Please join us at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center for the 10^th annual GTSE to learn about clean transportation, how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, pollutants, and costs in your fleet operations. To learn more about the conference, check out our website. To receive the code for the complimentary passes, please contact ITEP’s Dara Marks Marino at [email protected].