RESOURCES & FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

NOW HIRING!

NEW! Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa: Air Program Coordinator

Application Deadline: September 9, 2022 | Click Here for More Details   

            The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is seeking a full time Air Program Coordinator. Serve as a full-time Air Quality Coordinator who will plan, develop and implement a Tribal Air Program on the Fond du Lac Reservation. Continue air monitoring program; investigate indoor air quality issues; conduct public outreach; establish and maintain relationships with other Tribes, States, and Federal Agencies.

NEW! Spark Northwest: Project Manager (1 or 2)

Application Deadline: September 23, 2022 | Click Here for More Details

Spark Northwest is seeking a dynamic Project Manager to join our team of local clean energy innovators. This person will lead our Access Solar program, which expands clean energy to groups that have been traditionally excluded from opportunities due to barriers related to policy, capacity and financing. This position is one-part community engagement, meeting Tribal entities and community-based organizations where they are at to build capacity for clean energy planning and development. It is another part project management, providing step-by-step assistance to walk projects from design through funding and installation. This requires sensitivity and responsiveness to each group’s culture and workflow. We are especially seeking candidates with a mixture of these skills – community engagement and project management – and we do not require technical knowledge of clean energy. We have experts who will be standing ready to bring someone up to speed in that area. 

Request for Nominations of Candidates for U.S. EPA’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) to Review the Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNET)

EPA’s Science Advisory Board is seeking nominations of scientific experts to form a panel to review Agency presentations on the history, operation, contributions, and options for future operation of CASTNET, and to offer advice regarding its future. Nominations should be submitted by September 9, 2022.

The SAB is seeking nationally and internationally recognized scientists with demonstrated expertise in the following disciplines: Atmospheric Sciences, Air Quality Monitoring, Atmospheric Modeling, Atmospheric Chemistry, Ecology, Geostatistics, Biogeochemical Cycling, and Climate Change. Strongest consideration will be given to individuals with demonstrated experience (as documented in their curriculum vitae and publication history) with atmospheric chemical and particle wet and dry deposition; nitrogen impacts in ecosystems; critical loads; climate change impacts on air quality; differences in rural and urban air quality; photochemistry; atmospheric ammonia measurements, modeling and emission inventories; analysis of long-term environmental trends; forest ecology; soil chemistry; stream and lake chemistry; and biological monitoring of acid sensitive species.

Learn more via the Federal Register notice [FRL–10133–01–OA]. For further information contact Dr. Bryan J. Bloomer, Designated Federal Officer, EPA Science Advisory Board Staff Office at (202) 564–4222, or email at bloomer.bryan@epa.gov. General information concerning the EPA SAB can be found at the EPA SAB website at https://sab.epa.gov

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is looking for experienced communicators to be part of its community involvement program. The program is responsible for engaging communities near its federal Superfund hazardous waste cleanup sites throughout the cleanup process. Many communities near these cleanup sites are underserved and face many environmental burdens. The community involvement program aims to give community members the information they need to make informed decisions about their health and environment and constructively engage with EPA during cleanups.

Ideal candidates have:

• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Ability to collaborate and build partnerships across organizations and connect at the individual level
• Experience preparing public-facing written materials (like fact sheets), website content and/or other outreach materials for diverse audiences
• Experience developing and implementing community outreach strategies

TAMS Tribal Air Monitoring Technology Specialist Being Age 55 or Older is Good for The Environment! The Senior Environmental Employment (SEE) Program offers unique opportunities in Scientific, Technical, and Administrative / Office support for individuals aged 55 and over to support the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through a grant administered program through National Older Worker Career Center (NOWCC). This is a unique program where your talents, expertise and experience will truly be valued. The EPA provides a wonderful work atmosphere, and you’ll be working side-by-side with EPA staff that are doing important work every day.

Pay & Benefits: Pay rate: $18.01 /hr.

Benefits: Paid Health Insurance Premium if working 30+ hours per week, Paid Vacation, Paid Sick Time, Paid Federal Holidays plus one Individual Holiday, and optional Vision and Dental Insurance available. Must be U.S Citizen and age 55 or older to apply. The duties of this position must be performed onsite at the EPA office location in Las Vegas, NV. For Full Description and to Apply Click Here

The Clean Energy Corps is hiring. We need talented, diverse, kind, and hardworking people like you to join this team.

With the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Clean Energy Corps is charged with investing more than $62 billion to deliver a more equitable clean energy future for the American people by:

• Investing in American manufacturing
• Creating good paying jobs
• Expanding access to energy efficiency and clean energy for families, communities, and businesses
• Delivering reliable, clean, and affordable power to more Americans
• And building the technologies of tomorrow through clean energy research, development, and demonstrations

Apply Now!

You can find a great listing of Indian Country jobs on NCAI’s website here.

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes

Reminder! The Richard King Mellon Foundation has just released a Request for Proposal (RFP) to fund projects designed to slow or stop the spread of harmful invasive plants in the United States.

Applications Due: September 9, 2022, | 12:00 PM ET

This RFP focuses on the following three areas:

• Strengthening Programs Limiting Invasive Plants in the Nursery Trade and Retail Outlets
• Promoting Voluntary Efforts Through Outreach and Education
• Integrating Warming Temperatures and Climate Change into Prevention and Early Detection/Rapid Response

Questions? 

Contact Nikki Pirain (npirain@rkmf.org), Richard King Mellon Foundation.

NEW! Department of Energy (DOE) Announces $32 Million to Reduce Methane Emissions from Oil and Gas Sector

Applications Due October 4, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. ET. | For full details and areas of interest, read the FOA here.

            The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced up to $32 million in funding toward the research and development of new monitoring, measurement, and mitigation technologies to help detect, quantify, and reduce methane emissions across oil and natural gas producing regions of the United States. After carbon dioxide, methane is the most abundant greenhouse gas (GHG) warming our planet, and methane emissions contribute significantly to the GHG intensity of natural gas. The projects awarded through this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) will help ensure an efficient, resilient, and leak-tight U.S. natural gas infrastructure, while supporting President Biden’s national goal to cut global methane emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030.

All interested applicants must register and submit application materials through FedConnect; register here for an account. All questions about the FOA must also be submitted through FedConnect.

DOC Coastal Habitat Restoration and Resilience Grants for Underserved Communities, Under the IIJA – $10 million

Applications Due: September 30, 2022|

            Eligible Entities: County governments, state governments, city or township governments, small businesses, nonprofits, for profit organizations, Native American tribal governments (federally recognized), private institutions of higher education, public and state controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal organizations (other than federally recognized tribal governments)

The principal objective of this solicitation is to support opportunities for underserved communities, tribes, and/or tribal entities to meaningfully engage in coastal habitat restoration activities. Through this funding opportunity, NOAA intends to support capacity building and restoration project activities that have the greatest potential to lead to habitat restoration that enhances resilience of underserved communities in marine, estuarine, coastal, and Great Lakes areas. Meaningful engagement of underserved communities is intended to ensure that communities are integral to the visioning, decision-making, and leadership for coastal habitat restoration projects; to ensure that the scope of such projects are inclusive of the priorities and needs of communities; and/or to ensure that the benefits of such projects flow back to underserved communities.

For more information, visit the funding opportunity description.

DOE Federal Loan Guarantees for Tribal Energy Development Projects – $13 million

Applications Due: September 30, 2022

Eligible Entities: any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community, including any Alaska Native village or regional or village corporation as defined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act

On July 29, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) issued an updated solicitation for the Tribal Energy Loan Guarantee Program (TELGP) to implement direct lending authority. The update enables eligible tribes to apply for direct loans for eligible energy projects through the U.S. Treasury’s Federal Financing Bank, as authorized under The Consolidated Appropriations Act. For more information, visit the funding opportunity description.

EPA Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers Program – $50 million

Applications Due: October 4, 2022

Eligible Entities: Intertribal consortia, public and private universities and colleges, non-profits

The Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (EJ TCTAC) Program provides grant funding to eligible applicants to establish technical assistance centers across the nation providing technical assistance, training, and related support to communities with environmental justice concerns and their partners. The new technical assistance centers will provide training, assistance, and capacity building on writing grant proposals, navigating federal systems such as Grants.gov and SAM.gov, and effectively managing grant funding. These centers will also provide guidance on community engagement, meeting facilitation, and translation and interpretation services for limited English-speaking participants.

For more information, visit the funding opportunity description.

NEW! U.S. Forest Service Community Wildfire Defense Grant

Application Due: October 7, 2022 | 11:50 PM ET

A Community Wildfire Defense Grant is announced which, according to the website (https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/fire/grants), “are intended to help at-risk local communities and Tribes plan and reduce the risk against wildfire.  The Act prioritizes at-risk communities in an area identified as having high or very high wildfire hazard potential, are low-income, and/or have been impacted by a severe disaster.” The webinar on the 9th is specifically for tribes.

Save the Date: The upcoming dates are available to attend the Community Wildfire Defense Grant Webinars for Applicants. Registration is now Open. To attend a webinar, follow the Registration Instructions available in the Wildland Fire Learning Portal to set-up an account.

• Applications now available. For questions regarding applications, please contact Melissa Aulisio, accessga@usda.gov

NEW! EPA: Tribal and Insular Area Grants: Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) Request for Applications OPEN! – $8 million

Applications Due: October 26, 2022

Eligible Entities: Tribal governments (or intertribal consortiums), Alaska Native Villages, or insular area government agencies which have jurisdiction over transportation or air quality

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced the availability of grant funding for tribal and certain insular area governments to implement projects which reduce emissions from the nation’s existing fleet of older diesel engines. A total of $7 million will be made available to tribal governments, or intertribal consortia, and Alaska Native villages; and $1 million will be made available to insular area governments including the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Funds may be used to upgrade and replace older, dirtier diesel-powered vehicles and equipment with newer, cleaner vehicles and technologies.

Anticipated Timeline and Dates

Description	Date
2022 Request for Applications (RFA) Opened	Thursday, August 04, 2022
Information Session Webinars	Tuesday, August 16, 2022 – 1:00 PM ET Thursday, August 25, 2022 – 3:00 PM ET Wednesday, August 31, 2022 – 7:00 PM ET
Deadline for Submission of Questions	Friday, October 14, 2022 – 11:59 PM ET
Deadline for Applications	Wednesday, October 26, 2021—11:59 PM ET
Anticipated Notification of Selected Applicants	January 2023
Anticipated Funding of Awards	February 2023

For more information and to view the full RFA, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dera/tribal-insulararea

For further Tribal applicant information, contact: Lucita Valiere DERA Tribal Grants Lead Phone: 206-553-8087 Email: valiere.lucita@epa.gov

For further insular area applicant information, contact: Stephanie Watson DERA Insular Area Grants Lead Phone: 202-564-1409 Email: watson.stephanie@epa.gov

 NEW! NOAA RESTORE Science Program 2023 – $15 million

Applications Due: November 15, 2022

            Eligible Entities: Institutions of higher education; not-for-profit institutions; for-profit organizations; local governments, state governments, tribal governments; and U.S. territories

NOAA RESTORE Science Program is open for proposals for projects up to five years in duration. This announcement invites proposals that request funding from researcher, resource manager, and stakeholder partnerships to execute a previously planned, collaborative research project, develop its findings and products, transfer them to an identified resource manager or management body, and apply them to a specific Gulf of Mexico natural resource management decision. A letter of intent for this proposal is due by August 16, 2022.

For more information, visit the funding opportunity description.

NEW! DOC Climate Program Office FY 2023 – $11.1 million

Applications Due: November 21, 2022

Eligible Entities: State governments, local governments, tribal governments, institutions of higher education, nonprofits, international organizations 

As part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) climate portfolio within the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), the Climate Program Office (CPO) addresses climate challenges by managing competitive research programs through which high-priority climate science, assessments, decision-support research, outreach, education, and capacity-building activities are funded to advance our understanding of the Earth’s climate system, and to foster the application and use of this knowledge to improve the resilience of our Nation and its partners.

For more information, visit the funding opportunity description. 

Air Monitoring Equipment Available for Loan to State, Local, and Tribal Agencies

In 2021, EPA’s Office of Research and Development initiated the Wildfire Smoke Air Monitoring Response Technology (WSMART) Pilot, loaning air monitoring technologies to state, local, and tribal air organizations to support supplemental air monitoring in areas affected by wildfire smoke and with observational data coverage gaps. During 2022, this pilot technology loan program will continue to provide several technology types – including stationary air sensor systems and a compact mobile monitoring system – to state and local air agency monitoring staff and professional tribal air quality staff members upon request. The equipment is not available for general public use. For more information and access to the loan request webform, please visit the WSMART website:https://www.epa.gov/air-sensor-toolbox/wildfire-smoke-air-monitoring-response-technology-wsmart-pilot

For technical questions, please contact smoketech@epa.gov.

Communication Channels for NASA Funding Opportunities

Please consider signing up for the following communication channels. These channels will ensure that you are informed of student engagement and other funding opportunities:

• Register for an account with NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES). You’ll need to create an account if you don’t already have one. Once you have an account you’ll be able to sign up for notifications to be alerted when new funding opportunities are released. There are sometimes opportunities released specifically for Minority Serving Institutions (including TCUs and other indigenous serving higher education institutions) so it’s good to receive the notifications to stay on top of new opportunities.
• Sign up for our MUREP Newsletterwhich goes out every 2 weeks on Fridays.
• Check our MUREP websitefor announcements regarding MUREP specific funding opportunities.

EPA recently shared documents from the May 2021 Workshop on Wildfire Smoke and Children’s Health.

The workshop summary recaps expert presentation and topics discussed during the May event. The recommendations were drafted by multistakeholder workgroups and contain a collection of evidence-based information for decision making and for developing educational materials.

You can find the documents attached and posted on the AirNow website: https://www.airnow.gov/wildfire-guide-post-publication-updates/. At this site you will also see a link to A Story of Health, a multimedia eBook from the Western States Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit that explores how our environments interact with our genes to influence health across the lifespan. The latest chapter, Sofia’s Story, explores the health effects of wildfires.  Go directly to Story of Health here:  https://wspehsu.ucsf.edu/main-resources/for-clinical-professionals/training/a-story-of-health-a-multi-media-ebook/. For more information, contact EPA’s Martha Berger at Berger.Martha@epa.gov.

Office of Research and Development recently conducted planning discussions regarding the WSMART program. One decision we are activating now is a testing partner loan option during periods of lower wildfire activity (winter through early spring), with loans for up to 3 months. The website FAQs were updated today to outline that option (refer to: “Can I request this equipment to try out before the next wildfire season?”): https://www.epa.gov/air-sensor-toolbox/wildfire-smoke-air-monitoring-response-technology-wsmart-pilot

To view and/or receive ITEP’s American Indian Air Quality Training Program newsletter, Native Voices, click here!

Climate Change/Energy

NEW! DOE Community Geothermal Heating and Cooling Design and Deployment – $13 million Applications Due: October 11, 2022

Eligible Entities: Unrestricted

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the Community Geothermal Heating and Cooling Design and Deployment Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), which will award $300,000–$13 million for projects that help communities design and deploy geothermal district heating and cooling systems, create related workforce training, and identify and address environmental justice concerns. The FOA will support the formation of U.S.-based community coalitions that will develop, design, and install community geothermal heating and cooling systems that supply at least 25% of the heating and cooling load in communities.

• For more information, visit the funding opportunity description.

Join NCAI’s Climate Action email listserv here! 

Sign up for the Alliance for Green Heat’s newsletter!

To view and/or receive ITEP’s Climate Change newsletter, click here!

Toxics/Mobile Sources

Performance Reports on Electric Trucks Operating in Four Key Freight Markets Now Available!

A new series of five reports documenting the performance of 13 electric trucks is now available from the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE), a SmartWay Affiliate. NACFE’s Electric Trucks Have Arrived report series provides key metrics, consistent data sets, and presents important findings and insight into how these electric trucks operate to meet the operational demands of four critical freight markets. The report series is based on a comprehensive range of real-world data collected by NACFE during its Run on Less – Electric (ROL-E) truck demonstration conducted last fall. The series of reports also draw on extensive field research, studies, interviews, and related documents published by NACFE on the development and emergence of electric trucks in recent years.

For the Electric Trucks Have Arrived series, thirteen fleets and truck manufacturers paired up and collaborated with NACFE for its ROL-E demonstration. They agreed to equip their electric trucks with instruments and to continuously track, collect and provide NACFE with key data points, driver experience and other information on the performance of the trucks over the course of three weeks last fall. Each of the Electric Trucks Have Arrived reports covers specific market segments served by the participating fleets, as follows:

1. Three electric terminal tractors
2. Three electric delivery vans/step vans
3. Three electric medium-duty box trucks, and
4. Four electric heavy duty regional haul tractors

A fifth report, Electric Trucks Have Arrived: Documenting a Real-World Electric Trucking Demonstration provides an overview of the demonstration project, including details on the methods used to select the fleets that participated in the project, routes, and equipment, and the metrics that measured the 13 participating pairs of fleets and truck manufacturers.

Among its key findings, NACFE concludes that ROL-E demonstrates that for the market segments covered, the technology supporting electric trucks is mature enough for fleets to be making investments in production commercial battery electric vehicles. It expects continuous improvements will be rapid as these technologies gain market share, and that the environmental benefits of reducing emissions is significant for replacing traditional diesel and gasoline-based vehicles.

To access one or more of the reports available as part of the NACFE Electric Trucks Have Arrived series, click on the respective links above. For more information on NACFE visit www.nacfe.org.

Indoor Air Quality

Resource for Healthy Indoor Air Quality

Check out the website https://forhealth.org/ for many resources related to healthy homes and indoor air quality!

The Tribal Healthy Homes Network (THHN) has a webpage dedicated to Funding Opportunities! Additionally, THHN has developed a Funding Guide for American Indian and Alaska Native Communities.

Most Recent Listing: EPA Rules from the Federal Register can be found here.

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