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NEW! NTAA has released Policy Resource Kits including two new template letters for Tribes to use in responding to several EPA proposed actions including:

EPA’s draft Strategic Plan for FY 2022-2026. Comments are due into EPA by November 12^th.
EPA’s proposed guidance for PM and Ozone modelling. Comments are due into EPA by November 19^th.

NEW! EPA’s Community and Tribal Programs Group has been working on a webpage with publicly-facing Tribal Actions and Events calendar

This calendar includes the following information:

Upcoming outreach activities (e.g., rulemaking webinars, trainings)
National Tribal Council (NTC) monthly meetings,
National Tribal Air Association (NTAA) meetings,
Regional Tribal Operations Committee (RTOC) meetings, and
Upcoming regulatory dates (e.g., expected rule proposal dates).

This calendar is also linked under the “Tribal Air and Climate Resources” webpage under the “Policy and Planning” heading available at https://www.epa.gov/tribal-air. The purpose of the calendar is to ensure that our Tribal partners are kept apprised of EPA activities that are relevant to them. If you have any questions about the calendarsor any recommendations on how EPA can improve upon the calendars please do not hesitate to reach out to Toni Colon ([email protected]) and/or Tanya Abrahamian ([email protected]) with any feedback.

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes

NY Times – Forced Relocation Left Native Americans More Exposed to Climate Threats, Data Show “In the past, we used to go to the high country, where we had our summer camps. That’s where we would cool off,” Nikki Cooley, co-manager of the Tribes & Climate Change Program at Northern Arizona University and a citizen of the Diné (Navajo) Nation, in what is now northern Arizona. “We don’t have that, because all of the high-elevation communities are off the reservation.”

U.S EPA – U.S. to Sharply Cut Methane Pollution that Threatens the Climate and Public Health

The White House – Fact Sheet: President Biden Tackles Methane Emissions, Spurs Innovations, and Supports Sustainable Agriculture to Build a Clean Energy Economy and Create Jobs

The Hill – EPA to consider tighter air quality standards for smog

ProPublica – Poison in the Air: The EPA allows polluters to turn neighborhoods into “sacrifice zones” where residents breathe carcinogens. ProPublica reveals where these places are in a first-of-its-kind map and data analysis.

Nature Communications – Consumption in the G20 nations causes particulate air pollution resulting in two million premature deaths annually

Law 360 – Business Groups Urge Stay On Vacating Trump Water Rule

PBS – Native American tribes land buybacks start a commercial approach to social justice

KLCC – Ancient Native American forest practices demonstrated in burn near Eugene

NDN Collective – LANDBACK Movement

Tulsa World – Tulsa, Owasso join state in seeking to overturn McGirt ruling

Here’s where you’ll find this week’s NACAA Washington Update!