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- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Energy | Environment
The Department of the Interior is delivering nearly $82 million in federal funding to ensure clean drinking water for tribal communities in the western United States.
The investment, part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, will fund 23 projects across 8 states through the Bureau of Reclamation. Projects range from $7.3 million for planning and design of new water systems for the San Carlos Apache Tribe in Arizona, to $21.9 million for new water-distribution pipelines for the Barona Band of Mission Indians in California.
Twenty-one projects focus on planning, while two address construction.
“This new program will help our Tribal partners ensure a basic necessity like clean, reliable drinking water is available in their communities,” Bureau of Reclamation Deputy Commissioner David Palumbo said in a statement.
The funding comes from the Inflation Reduction Act, which allocated $550 million to expand domestic water supplies in historically disadvantaged communities, with $320 million earmarked for Tribal projects, per prior Tribal Business News reporting.
The program covers up to 100 percent of planning, design, or construction costs, with maximum limits ranging from $3 million for planning studies to $50 million for construction projects.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland called the investments “crucial to ensuring the health, safety, and economic prosperity of Indigenous communities,” where nearly 48 percent of households lack access to clean drinking water, per a report by the University of Colorado-Boulder.
The announcement comes as the San Carlos Apache Tribe, which will receive $7.3 million under the DOI program, works to comply with EPA standards under the federal Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act violations. In August, the tribe entered into agreements with the EPA to address “significant deficiencies” at three drinking water systems. Under the agreements, the tribe must develop compliance plans and hire certified operators for its water systems.
