tribal air quality programs
DESCRIPTION
Tribal Air Quality Programs. Joy Wiecks Fond du Lac Air Quality Technician EPA’s “Working Effectively with Tribal Governments” training June 19, 2014. Location, Fond du Lac Reservation. Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
JOY WIECKSFOND DU LAC AIR QUALITY TECHNICIAN
EPA’S “WORKING EFFECTIVELY WITH TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS” TRAINING
JUNE 19, 2014
Tribal Air Quality Programs
Location, Fond du Lac Reservation
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Roughly 4,400 Band members, with 1,500 living on the Reservation
Reservation is 100,000 contiguous acres - heavily wooded, with many wetlands. Has 108 water bodies, including 843 acres of wild rice waters
5-member Tribal Council elected to staggered four-year terms
Band has two casinos, a hotel complex with a golf course, various enterprises
FdL (Continued)
Resource Mgmt Division: Forestry, Wildlife, Natural Resources, Environmental
Ceded Territories covers another 8 million acres
Local industry includes: taconite (iron ore) mines; pulp and paper facilities; shipping and rail; natural gas and oil pipelines; EGU’s; refinery; traffic from major highway; unpaved roads
Resource Management Building
Netting
Sturgeon Study
Sturgeon Release
Baby Sturgeon
Wild Rice Harvest
Winter Moose Survey
Moose, Ceded Territories
Water Quality Studies
Stream Shocking
What Tribes Do Under AQ Programs
Complete emission inventories
Monitor ambient airReview and comment on
local permits and Environmental Impact Statements
Review proposed regulatory actions
Perform educational outreach
Serve on committees and workgroups
Continued, Tribal AQ Programs
Perform on-Reservation special studies
Expand authorities on-Reservation (permitting, TIPs, etc)
Designate attainment/non-attainment on Reservations
Do on-Reservation Indoor Air Quality work
Work on climate change adaptation plans
Why Do Tribes Pursue Environmental Quality?
Protect on- and off-Reservation resources for cultural, religious, and substance purposes
To build Self-determinationExpand authorities and
build capacityTo supplement tribal
economic development plans
FdL AQ Program
We have two staff members, sharing 1.8 FTE
Have completed an emission inventory Monitoring Program: currently monitor
mercury deposition and ozone. In the past, PM2.5, NADP, NOx, dioxin
Doing a short-term monitoring study on emissions from bus idling
Active in: permit review, EIS review, regulatory review, regional haze, greenhouse gas mitigation, mercury issues
Work on state, local, regional, national workgroups
Have experience in indoor air quality (lead, radon, mold, secondhand smoke, asthma triggers)
Tribal Air Programs Today
There are 117 tribal air programs receiving support from EPA
There are 78 tribes performing monitoring with 52 of them reporting to AQS
Twenty-two tribes are performing toxics programs in their communities
Fifty-seven tribes have completed Reservation emission inventories, with 13 more underway
Thirty-two TAS’s and 2 Tribal TIP’s have been approved
Tribes have visible involvement in some RPO’s and on the CAAAC
National Tribal Air Association
Challenges Facing Tribal Air Programs
Stagnant funding or loss of “project” funding
Some tribes have jurisdictional and/or political issues with surrounding states
In rural areas it can be hard to attract/keep technically trained staff
Small staff trying to do everythingTraining is available, but limited
Communicating with Tribal Air Staff
We like to cast a broad netSometimes we don’t know what we want
to be notified about til we hear about itTechnically, important communication
should go the Tribal Chair, but…Please carbon copy environmental staffInstitute for Tribal Environmental
Professionals/National Tribal Air Assoc. are great contacts
OAQPS/Regions/Tribal Contacts also very good at this
Continued…
For many tribes, air staff qualified to do “information” calls, not “consultation”
Often we are more concerned with effects on the environment than economics or mandates
But economics are a concern, tooWe would rather be informed about
too many items than too few
For More Information
www.ntaatribalair.orgwww4.nau.edu/itepwww.epa/gov/air/tribal/backgrnd.htmlwww.epa.gov/indian/www.epa/gov/aieo/
Conclusions
Consult early and often
Be respectfulUnderstand our
resource limitationsRemember unique
legal statusRemember what we
want to protect