The Tribes of EPA Region V have unveiled their most recent form of outreach: the Tribal Air Resources Journal for 2010.  This Journal is provides a concise one page synopsis of Tribal air quality programs in EPA Region V.  Each sovereign Tribe who submitted to the Journal did so with the intent to share their story, successes, struggles, and achievements in order to better communicate concerns of air quality in Indian Country and how Tribes are striving to protecting it.

Tribal Ambient Air Monitoring: Why Do We Do It?

An interesting question, with a simple and powerful answer:

"Because We Can.  Because We Care. Because We Want to Contribute."

Take a look at this excellent presentation created by James Luedecke of the Quapaw Tribe. It is an exploration of why Tribal air monitoring programs are important to Tribes and the nation as a whole.  Download the presentation here.

Brandy Toft-Air Quality Specialist
Charles Woods-Air Quality Technician

Program in Existence since - 2001
Program Projects - Hg, IAQ, Met, PM 2.5, Radon, Diesel, more...
Location - Leech Lake Reservation, HQ located in Cass Lake, MN

The Leech Lake Air Program (LLAP) has taken the lead in air monitoring for north central Minnesota as neither federal nor state agencies have done any type of long-term air monitoring projects in the area. The LLAP is filling data gaps for our area with PM 2.5, Mercury, and Meteorological data. In the past we have done PUF sampling for dioxins and PM 2.5 sampling with minivols. The dioxin monitoring has been a disappointment for Leech Lake. Funding for the project was not granted at a critical juncture of data collection to potentially show trends and suspect dangerous levels of airborne dioxin around a superfund site located on the Reservation.