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NTAA has released a Tribal Template Letter to comment on EPA’s Proposed Emissions Guidelines to Reduce Methane from the Oil and Natural Gas Industry. You can find NTAA’s new fact sheet on NTAA’s Policy Resource Kit page here. Last week, NTAA’s Chairwoman Carol Kriebs testified during EPA’s public hearing last week. You can read her remarks here. Deadline extended: Comments are now due to the EPA on January 31st, 2022 (previously January 14th) Comment here!

 

NTAA Presents the NTAA Monthly Video Update from Executive Committee Member for Region 9 with Primary Rep. Syndi Smallwood and Alternate Rep. Leonard Bruce. If you don’t have time to dive deep into the NTAA Weekly Update, watch the quick video update to help give you the latest news from NTAA and learn more about the Tribes in each region. You can also find this video and previous video from other NTAA EC members on the NTAA website, www.NTAATribalAir.org. Thanks to Happy Accidents Video Production!

  

Submit your 2022 NTFAQ Presentation Abstract | Google Form

The National Tribal Forum on Air Quality (NTFAQ) aims to support Tribal programs by fostering information-sharing and networking opportunities that are focused on building Tribal capacity in air quality management. The event’s agenda is driven by Tribal input and priorities, with a focus on increasing Tribal engagement in air quality initiatives that are relevant to tribal communities across the nation.

The NTFAQ is scheduled for May 2-5, 2022. Sample topic for presentations or trainings may include but is not limited to:

  • Air Quality & Grants
  • Air Quality Policy & Regulations
  • Indoor Air Quality
  • Air Quality Health and Research
  • Technical: air monitoring, data management & analysis, emission inventories
  • Tribal Case Studies: examples of Tribes implementing air quality projects & programs
  • Climate Change & Air Quality
  • Community engagement: youth, elders, and community leaders
  • Tribal/Traditional Knowledge

If you have questions about the agenda, presentation options, or other ways to participate in the event, please contact Andy.Bessler@nau.edu.
Timeline:

  • Call for Presentations Opens: December 1st, 2021
  • Presentation Proposals Due: January 15th, 2022
  • Letter of Notification (will include instructions and timeline): February 17th,
  • 2022
  • Presentation Materials Deadline: March 28 (if pre-recorded) April 15 (if in-person)

 

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes

USA Today – ‘We can expect more’: Did climate change play a role in the deadly weekend tornadoes?

EPA – EPA Opens $20 Million Grant Competition for Community Air Pollution Monitoring  

The Guardian – How much air pollution do you live with? It may depend on your skin color

Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center – Story of Igiugig: Patrick Lynch MC/MPA 2019 partnered with Indigenous filmmakers to tell the story of native sovereignty in Alaska.

Washington Post – Native Americans’ farming practices may help feed a warming world

National Law Review – EPA’s Fall 2021 Unified Agenda Includes TSCA Rulemakings

Reuters – High rates of methane spewing from U.S. Permian oilfield operations – report

Block Club Chicago – City Delays Permit For Southeast Side Metal Scrapper After EPA Says Another Polluter Raises ‘Significant Civil Rights Concerns’

The Guardian – ‘Gushing oil and roaring fires’: 30 years on Kuwait is still scarred by catastrophic pollution

E&E – Consultant who downplayed PFAS risks pivots on EPA resignation

E&E News – EPA’s watchdog plans climate, environmental justice probes

Inside Climate News – Coal powered the industrial revolution. It left behind an ‘absolutely massive’ environmental catastrophe

9 News – Aspen testing program that uses artificial intelligence to detect wildfire smoke

Here’s your link to this week’s NACAA Washington Update

Climate Change/Energy

Politico – Biden order requires net-zero federal government emissions by 2050

E&E News – Senate Dems huddle on climate as reconciliation deadline nears

NPR – The exact link between tornadoes and climate change is hard to draw. Here’s why

Thomas Reuters Foundation – ‘Silent financier’: How Bangladesh’s poor are paying the costs of climate damage

Canary Media – Don’t Look Up: A movie about climate change that is actually good

Texas Tribune – Texas electricity regulators say most power generation facilities are ready for winter. That alone won’t stop a blackout.

Inside Climate News – The West Sizzled in a November Heat Wave and Snow Drought

Science Daily – How we measure the effects of methane matters for climate policy

Bloomberg – Arctic Fires Are Melting Permafrost That Keeps Carbon Underground

Toxics/Mobile Sources

The Hill – Harris rolls out plan for electric vehicle charging network

News Medical – Deaths attributable to air pollution have dropped with reductions in vehicle emissions, study shows

Gizmodo – Most of Amazon’s Pollution-Spewing Warehouses Are Built In Communities of Color

E&E – Toxicologist who belittled PFAS risks resigns from EPA role

Axios – The race for electric vehicle materials

Indoor Air Quality

E&E News – NYC set to enact gas ban with national implications

ACHR News – Experts Expect Interest in IAQ to Continue after COVID