- Details
- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Health Care
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) and the Indian Health Service signed a memorandum of agreement on Monday for a $44.5 million wastewater treatment project to improve the tribes’ water infrastructure.
The project, the largest funding allocation in the 65-year history of the IHS Sanitation Facilities Construction (SFC) program, will upgrade the Mission Community Wastewater System, which serves a population of over 1,000 residents.
Under the agreement, $38 million will come from the IHS SFC program, funded through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which appropriates $700 million annually from fiscal year 2022 to fiscal 2026 to improve tribal water systems. The funding, which aims to improve water and sanitation systems across American Indian and Alaska Native communities, has spurred more than 800 tribal projects that are in various states of development, according to a statement.
CTUIR’s new wastewater treatment plant will treat up to 1.5 million gallons of wastewater per day and is designed to conserve aquifer water by maintaining current demand levels while accommodating community growth. It will eventually produce approximately 444,000 gallons of recycled water daily, reducing withdrawals from the regional aquifer and contributing to sustainable water management practices. The facility will also generate Class A-recycled water, suitable for irrigation.
CTUIR Chairman Gary I. Burke said the project not only aims to meet the community's immediate needs, but also aligns with the broader goals of environmental stewardship and sustainable development.
“This historical project is going to help our tribal membership and our enterprises, both of which are very important to us,” Burke said in a statement. “Water is very important to all of us. It sustains life. It is part of our religion and part of our First Foods.”
The project also is benefitting from additional federal funding sources. U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden secured $3 million from the Environmental Protection Agency, with the tribes of the CTUIR contributing $3.5 million to the overall project cost.
The construction of the new wastewater facility is scheduled to begin in late 2025, with a projected completion date in late 2027.
