&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
ANN UAL REPORT 2012
The Clean Water Indian Set Aside Grant Program
The Clean Water Indian
Set Aside Grant Program
Promoting access to sustainable
safe drinking water and basic sanitation in
Indian country through integrated
appropriate infrastructure and sustainable
resource entities that link the development
goals of the tribe with the need for such
services and infrastructure*.
Environmental Benefits:
Since 2003, more than
56,875 tribal homes have
been provided access to
wastewater sanitation.
Public Health Benefits:
Nationwide, 12% of tribal homes
lack access to safe drinking
water or wastewater facilities
compared to less than 1% for
non-tribal homes. EPA uses
the Indian Health Service's
Sanitation Deficiency System to
identify and prioritize important
projects that benefit public health
for CWISA funding.
Economic Benefits:
Water infrastructure projects
stimulate local economies and
create construction jobs in
tribal communities (see Nambe
Pueblo case study, pg 6).
The Clean Water Indian Set Aside
(CWISA) Grant Program, in
conjunction with the Indian Health
Service, assists federally recognized
Indian tribes in the U.S. in gaining
access to basic sanitation. In FY2012,
EPA awarded $30 million for
wastewater treatment construction
projects in Indian country, financing
89 projects. These projects will serve
over 9,000 tribal homes and 78% of
these projects will provide first-time
access to safe wastewater services.
To ensure the long-term benefit from
these investments, the CWISA Grant
Program emphasizes system
sustainability and continued
operations and maintenance of the
infrastructure. These construction
programs also provide opportunities
for tribal members to develop job
skills.
Since 1987, about $400 million in
CWISA Grant Program funding has
been made available to finance a total
of 1,062 projects in Indian country.
Between 2003 and 2012, in
coordination with other federal
partners, EPA provided 63,087 tribal
homes with access to basic
wastewater sanitation. While great
progress has been made in Indian
country to reduce the number of tribal
homes without access to wastewater
collection and treatment, more work is
needed. In FY2011, there continued
to be over 120,000 tribal homes
*2011 Revised Infrastructure Task Force Focus
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Annual Report 2012
www.epa.gov/cwisa
Between 2003 and
2011, in coordination
with other federal
partners, EPA
provided 63,087 tribal
homes with access
to basic wastewater
sanitation.
without access to basic sanitation. The
American Indian and Alaskan Native
populations have been growing by
18.4% between 2000 and 2010,
compared to the total U.S. population
which increased by only 10% over the
same period (U.S. Census). As
American Indian and Alaskan Native
populations rapidly grow, the universe of
homes without access to safe drinking
water and basic wastewater sanitation is
also growing, and the need for these
services becomes more prominent. The
latest Indian Health Service annual
report from the Sanitation Facilities
Construction program (FY2010)
estimated the wastewater need totaled
$900 million in Indian country.
Federal and
Tribal
Partnerships
Effectively
Support Tribes
The CWISA Grant Program relies on a
number of federal partners to achieve its
goals. EPA uses the Indian Health
Service's (IHS) Sanitation Deficiency
System priority lists to identify and
select projects for CWISA funding. This
partnership maximizes the technical
and financial resources available
through both agencies to address tribal
wastewater treatment needs.
The Tribal Infrastructure Task Force is
an inter-agency group initiated under a
memorandum of understanding among
EPA, IHS, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Department of the Interior,
and Department of Housing and Urban
Development. In November 2011, the
task force renewed its commitment to
support increased access to safe
drinking water and basic sanitation in
Indian country and defined a broader
focus to encourage increased
sustainability of tribal infrastructure.
With this renewed focus, the task force
invited 825 tribal leaders, tribal housing
directors, and water organizations to join
the efforts of the federal partners
through participation in a federal
steering committee. The committee
continues to provide direct input on how
to increase sustainable access to safe
drinking water and basic sanitation in
Indian country.
The federal agencies and tribal
members of the task force worked
together to draft a document defining
sustainable management entities and
appropriate infrastructure
to help maximize and protect
investments in Indian country. The
federal agencies on the task force have
also been working together to
streamline grant paperwork
requirements for programs that fund
water infrastructure projects in Indian
country. These efforts will improve
tribal access to program funding and
benefits by awarding funds both more
quickly and with less administrative
burden for tribes.
&EPA
The Clean Water Indian Set Aside Grant Program
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Annual Report 2012
www.epa.gov/cwisa
Addressing
Public Health
Challenges
Native Americans lack access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation in
disproportionate numbers, increasing the likelihood of public health threats such as
the risk of disease exposure and water-borne illnesses. Twelve percent of tribal
homes (as reported by IMS) do not have access to safe drinking water and/or
wastewater disposal facilities compared with approximately two-thirds of 1 % of non-
native homes in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau 2000). This disparity is
greatest on the Navajo Reservation and in Alaskan Native Villages.
Congress recently granted authority to allow for the transfer of funds between the
CWISA and the Drinking Water Infrastructure Grant Tribal Set Aside. This ability to
transfer funds increases EPA's ability to target infrastructure funding to the highest
priority drinking water and wastewater public health needs in Indian country.
Transferring funds will allow EPA Regions to focus EPA funding on more projects that
will immediately address critical public health issues involving the lack of safe drinking
water access and basic sanitation. EPA plans to implement this authority in FY2013.
Ramah Lift Station Inspection, Navajo Nation May 2011.
&EPA
The Clean Water Indian Set Aside Grant Program
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Annual Report 2012
www.epa.gov/cwisa
Protecting
America's
Waters In and
Around Tribes
Since 2003, more than 63,000 tribal homes have been provided access to wastewater
sanitation. Failing wastewater systems can significantly impact the environment as old
and deteriorated pipelines or straight pipes allow untreated wastewater to flow into
rivers, streams, and other bodies of water. Many of these inadequate systems often
discharge raw, untreated sewage to streams and rivers which may have recreational,
aquatic life, and sacred tribal uses. These waters sometimes serve as a source of
subsistence fishing for tribes as well, compounding significant environmental
degradation with public health risks.
Economic
Health
Benefits
In general, systems serving small, economically stressed tribal communities face
various challenges, including remote locations that can be difficult to access and
limited institutional capacity. When tribal households must manually transport water
for daily use, such as some homes in Navajo Nation, there are significant costs to
productivity due to the time spent obtaining water. Tribes often have difficulty ensuring
sustainable access to services due to the lack of technical, financial, and managerial
capacity to oversee these systems. Unemployment on tribal lands can reach as high
as 70%. When possible, CWISA-funded projects hire local residents to assist with
building wastewater infrastructure that will serve their community.
Reverse Osmosis Water Treatment Plant, Gila River Indian Community.
&EPA
The Clean Water Indian Set Aside Grant Program
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Annual Report 2012
www.epa.gov/cwisa
Tribal Capacity
Development
Training in operation and maintenance is a critical
component to promoting sustainable water and
wastewater infrastructure. Trained system
operators and managers help ensure that
systems function properly and reach their designed
life cycles, helping to protect the original federal
investment. In 2011, EPA launched a nationwide
initiative to train tribal operators and managers on
how best to efficiently and effectively use and
maintain their water and wastewater infrastructure,
protecting federal investment and increasing
national facility sustainability. In 2011-2012, nine
trainings were delivered to tribes across the country
to improve the skills and knowledge of water
infrastructure operations and maintenance, further
improving the technical capacity of local tribal
operators and managers and the longevity of
infrastructure. Each of the three-day training courses educated a wide range of
participants, including tribal environmental managers, utility operators, and elected
officials. EPA has also released a series of on-line training modules covering an array
of operation, maintenance and system management issues at smaller drinking water
and wastewater facilities. The training modules can be found at: http://water.epa.gov/
type/watersheds/wastewater/smallsystemsoperatortraining.cfm
The Water/Wastewater
Training in Billings, MT, was
excellent. It covers every
aspect of tribal community
water/wast ewater systems,
planning, operations, trouble
shooting, maintenance, record
keeping and required reports.
The Training improves and
evolves with every session."
- Dave Tonasket, Colville
Confederated Tribes
Environmental Trust Division,
Onsite Wastewater Permitting
10,000
Clean Water Indian Set Aside Grant
Program Progress 2003 - 2012
FY2003 FY2004 FY2005 FY2006 FY2007 FY2008 FY2009 FY2010 FY2011 FY2012
1 Number of homes provided wastewater service (peryear) Number of homes provided wastewater service (cumulative)
&EPA
The Clean Water Indian Set Aside Grant Program
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Annual Report 2012
www.epa.gov/cwisa
CASE STUDIES
Protecting
Groundwater
Quality in the
Nambe Pueblo
Nambe Pueblo,
New Mexico
Nambe Pueblo Wastewater
Treatment System
Construction Project
Since 1968, the Nambe Pueblo had utilized an unlined lagoon system to handle
the community's wastewater needs. The sandy soils in the area are subject to a
high degree of percolation, which allowed untreated or undertreated wastewater to
seep from the lagoon into the local groundwater aquifer. This lagoon system also
contributed to high nitrate concentrations in downstream wells.
With a $1 million investment from the EPA's Clean Water Indian Set Aside
(CWISA) Grant Program, the Indian Health Service designed and contracted the
construction of a new wastewater treatment facility for Nambe Pueblo that would
adequately treat the community's wastewater. This CWISA project spurred the
construction of modernized infrastructure and provided local small businesses and
their employees valuable on-the-job experience. The work to construct these
facilities was completed by local businesses, including Saigan Construction, a local
Indian-owned small contracting business. Saigan Construction was struggling to
maintain construction jobs for the company in 2010 due to the poor economy.
Working on this project changed that, allowing Saigan Construction to keep current
employees employed and to hire approximately nine new employees.
The local community, including 41 Indian homes, non-Indian homes in the Nambe
area, small business owners, and the tribal wastewater facility, benefited from this
project, helping to improve public health, the environment, and the economy.
Tribe Takes
'Control1 Of Sells
Lift Station
Tohono O'odham
Nation, Arizona
Sells Lift Station
Construction Project
In Tohono O'odham Nation, 66 American Indian homes suffered from inadequate
wastewater collection and treatment. Outdated and poorly functioning wastewater
equipment was allowing raw sewage to contaminate local waterways. Since 1981,
the Tohono O'odham Utility Authority had relied on an old lift station in the
community of Sells that was causing frequent problems with its interconnection to
the main pipeline. Any failures due to the pumping equipment would allow raw
sewage to dump into the Sells Wash.
Through the CWISA Grant Program, EPA awarded $71,880 in ARRA funds and
the community was able to make necessary replacements to a sewer main,
forcemain connection and manholes, as well as to install new supervisory control
and data acquisition (SCADA) controls. The upgrades, which were completed by
the Tucson Area Indian Health Service, eliminated lift station failures and ensure
that basic sanitation needs are met.
This project included new automation and a submersible lift station, which is a
much more efficient technology and, therefore, lowers power costs. With the
SCADA remote capabilities, the lift station can be monitored and operated from a
&EPA
The Clean Water Indian Set Aside Grant Program
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T laptop through the Internet from anywhere in the world. As a result of this
innovative infrastructure, the utility authority will not only expect a reduction in
their maintenance costs, fuel costs, and personnel time, they will also extend the
Lift Station life of the lift station-
Continued "Working with IMS and EPA has been a great experience for the Tribe," said
David Saddler, manager at the Tohono O'odham Utility Authority. "The [ARRA]
funds enabled us to improve and enhance our physical plants. Without these
funds, we would have been maintaining an old plant that had outlived its
recommended useful life."
For more information, please visit:
www.epa.gov/cwisa
&EPA
ANN UAL REPORT 2012
The Clean Water Indian Set Aside Grant Program
EPA-830-R-12-002
November 2012
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