UPCOMING CALLS/EVENTS/NOTICES

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes

REMINDER! EPA Clean School Bus Program – 2022 Rebates Application deadline is this Friday, August 19, 2022. SAM.gov entity registration required.

EPA is offering $500 million in rebates for electric and low-emission school buses. Register Today for the Webinars Below! Program Now Open! EPA begins accepting online application submissions here.

  • Submit Your Rebate Application by August 19, 2022 ATTENTION:
  • Applying for a Rebate? Be sure to get an Active SAM.gov Account First!
  • Click hereto view the program guidance and a list of eligible/priority applicants.
  • Click hereto begin the 2022 Clean School Bus Rebate Application process.
  • Click hereto sign-up for the Clean School Bus News listserv and add cleanschoolbus@epa.gov to your email contacts to guarantee you receive regular program updates and our messages don’t go to your spam folder.
  • Click hereto access the EPA Clean School Bus website to learn more about the program and the benefits of clean school buses.
  • Email cleanschoolbus@epa.govwith any questions or feedback to improve the program.

NEW! EPA has scheduled two listening sessions to seek input on the development of a new Pollution Prevention (P2) grant opportunity

Please see below for additional details, including session dates/times and links to register. The session on Sept. 7 is specifically for tribes and intertribal consortia, while the session on Sept. 8 is for all potential applicants and stakeholders (including tribes).

Register for the webinars using the following links:

If any questions Contact:

Co-Regulator Liaison, Emily M. Ryan: Ryan.Emily@epa.gov / (202) 566-1235

NEW! U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) FY2022 Appropriations

To View Report Click Here.

This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role. 

U.S. DOT Announces Thriving Communities Program

On August 5, 2022, DOT published a Thriving Communities Request for Information (RFI) in the Federal Register [Document Number 2022-16860] to hear directly from transportation professionals, local officials, community partners and other stakeholders about the specific issues and technical areas where those living and working in disadvantaged communities need more direct assistance from capacity building providers and the federal government to successfully access infrastructure funding and advance transformative transportation projects. The RFI can be viewed and comments submitted through August 26, 2022.

EPA: USEPA – SIGNED: Air Toxics Standards for Stationary Engines – Final Amendments to Address Court Vacatur

On August 4, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule that amends the Code of Federal Regulations for two stationary engine rules. EPA does not expect any emissions changes as a result of this final action. The final action codifies a court mandate that has been in place since 2016 related to the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for Stationary Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines (RICE) and the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for Stationary Internal Combustion Engines (ICE). A pre-publication version of the notice and a fact sheet are available at https://www.epa.gov/stationary-engines and on the websites for each rule at:

NC Radon Program Social Media Toolkit

The NC Radon Program has created a free Radon Social Media Toolkit for your use. The materials are in both English and Spanish. All of the materials are in a Google Docs folder. To access this social media toolkit folder

EPA Webinar: EPA PFAS Strategic Roadmap: Research Tools and Resources

August 17, 2022, | 3:00 – 4:00 PM ET | Click Here to Register

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of chemicals that have been manufactured and used in a variety of industries in the United States and around the globe since the 1940s, and they are still being used today. There are thousands of different PFAS, some of which have been more widely used and studied than others. Due to their widespread production and use, as well as their ability to move and persist in the environment, PFAS can be found in surface water, groundwater, soil and air—from remote rural areas to densely-populated urban centers. A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that exposure at certain levels to specific PFAS can adversely impact human health and other living things.

This webinar will provide a brief overview of EPA’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap and ongoing efforts by EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) to address key PFAS research needs for environmental decision-making. ORD scientists will highlight two recently released data sources: EPA’s PFAS Thermal Treatment Database, which contains information on the treatability of PFAS via various thermal processes, and Systematic Evidence Maps for PFAS, which summarize available toxicity evidence for approximately 150 different PFAS. Recent updates to other PFAS resources will also be shared.      

EPA’s Community and Tribal Programs Group has a publicly facing Tribal Actions and Events calendar for all to use!

This calendar is also linked under the “Tribal Air and Climate Resources” webpage under the “Policy and Planning” heading available at https://www.epa.gov/tribal-air. The purpose of the calendar is to ensure that our Tribal partners are kept apprised of EPA activities that are relevant to them. If you have any questions about the calendars or any recommendations on how EPA can improve upon the calendars please do not hesitate to reach out to Toni Colon (colon.toni@epa.gov) and/or Loren Fox (fox.loren@epa.gov) with any feedback.

New Air Knowledge E–Learning Content

The Air Knowledge training team is pleased to announce the availability of new air quality training materials!

These e-learning courses and modules are at the foundational learning level and are available to tribal, state, and local air agencies through our learning management system (LMS) and to the public here. The website was recently enhanced to provide additional self-instructional and instructor-led training materials.

The new materials include:

  • A course that explains the key historic events that led to air pollution control legislation and describes progress made with air pollution control since the passage of the Clean Air Act,
  • A course that explains the basic components of state and tribal implementation plans,
  • A module that generally defines the transport and fate of air pollutants and how transport and fate are influenced by meteorology and topography,
  • A module that explains the basic aspects of an air emissions inventory, and
  • A module that explains the purposes and types of air emissions inventories, including the inventories that the EPA develops.

More detailed information about the contents of these new materials can be found in the attached document.

To access the courses and modules on the LMS (https://epaapti.csod.com), tribal air agencies and organizations can register, log in, and refer to the “What’s New” section on the home page. All other users (the public, international community, academia, industry, EPA staff, etc.) can access the courses and modules on the Air Knowledge interim website.

NTAA Upcoming Calls

Contact Andy.Bessler@nau.edu if you have any questions about any call! *Registration instructions* When you register for the GoToWebinar, please remember to include your Tribe, Region, or Organization in parenthesis after your last name. This allows you to see everyone on the call and prevents us from conducting a rollcall, ultimately saving everyone’s time.

The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professional (ITEP)

Click Here for ITEP’s new Tribal Environmental Management and Planning Online Courses. Sign up for a self-paced course hosted by ITEP’s Waste and Response and Tribal Air Quality programs.  New courses have been added, so check it out!

ITEP’s American Indian Air Quality Training Program (AIAQTP) hosts the Building Performance: Improving IAQ in Cold Climates, Residential Building Science Review, Radon Fundamentals, Quality Assurance Fundamental, Writing a Quality Assurance Project Plan, Emissions Inventory Fundamentals, and Emissions Inventory Advanced.

AIAQTP Schedule and Registration 

Recorded Webinars

Looking for more information check out the Tribal Air Quality Media Space Channel. Recent webinars include an Introduction to Air Quality Programs, Emissions Inventories, Remote Professional Assistance, and Woodstoves in Indian Country. Older classics include a series on Air Quality Planning for Wildland Smoke, Tribal Air Program and Grants, Data Management, and the Clean Air Act.

ITEP’s Tribes and Climate Change Calendar includes conferences, trainings, webinars, and other events related to tribes and climate change.

EPA Tools and Resources Webinar Series

Click here to see all past and upcoming webinars hosted by the EPA.

Climate Change / Energy

EPA has updated the Tribal Greenhouse Gas Inventory Tool

EPA’s free, spreadsheet-based Tribal Greenhouse Gas Inventory Tool

            This year’s updates include:

  • An optional market-based method to calculate Scope 2 emissions from electricity purchased through contractual instruments, such as Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs).
  • Revised Emissions & Generation Resource Integrated Database (eGRID) factors from 1990 through 2019, as available.
  • Updated default stationary energy emission factors and heat contents.
  • Kerosene and distillate fuel oil as additional stationary energy fuel types.

Find the updated Tribal community and government operations modules and users’ guides here. Are you a long-time inventory tool user with questions about the new updates? Or is this your first GHG inventory? Join this webinar or upcoming offices hours to learn more and ask questions:

Brownfields 2022: Keynote Speaker: Dr. Jonathan Reichental and EPA Administrator Michael Regan

August 18th, 2022, | Register Here

Dr. Jonathan Reichental is a multiple-award-winning technology and business leader whose career has spanned both the private and public sectors. He’s been a senior software engineering manager, a director of technology innovation, and has served as chief information officer at both O’Reilly Media and the City of Palo Alto, California. Reichental is currently the founder of advisory, investment, and education firm, Human Future, and also creates online education for LinkedIn Learning. He has written three books on the future of cities: Smart Cities for Dummies, Exploring Smart Cities Activity Book for Kids, and Exploring Cities Bedtime Rhymes.

Cosponsored by the EPA and ICMA, Brownfields 2022 will be taking place: August 16-19, 2022, in Oklahoma City, OK

Toxics/Mobile Sources

SmartWay Logistics Tool Demonstration

August 17, 2022, | 2:00 PM ET | Click Here to Register

This webinar is for third-party logistics companies and Partners who want to learn how to use SmartWay’s ONLINE Logistics Tool. During the webinar, SmartWay staff will review how Logistics Partners can use the 2022 Tool to obtain an emissions profile for their clients, carriers, and their own operations. This webinar begins with some background on SmartWay, walks you through the tool in a live demonstration, and provides insights on how you can use tool outputs to evaluate where performance can be improved.

EPA Past SmartWay Webinars and Events

To address these trends and challenges, EPA developed the SmartWay program.

Launched in 2004, this voluntary public-private program:

  • provides a comprehensive and well-recognized system for tracking, documenting and sharing information about fuel use and freight emissions across supply chains
  • helps companies identify and select more efficient freight carriers, transport modes, equipment, and operational strategies to improve supply chain sustainability and lower costs from goods movement
  • supports global energy security and offsets environmental risk for companies and countries
  • reduces freight transportation-related emissions by accelerating the use of advanced fuel-saving technologies
  • is supported by major transportation industry associations, environmental groups, state and local governments, international agencies, and the corporate community

View the SmartWay timeline and learn about the program’s achievements and key milestones reached since SmartWay’s launch in 2002. Our progress to making freight in the supply chain more sustainable and efficient is due to the vision, commitment and hard work of SmartWay Partners and Affiliates! Two Decades of Progress: SmartWay Partnership Milestones (PDF)(1 pg, 345 K, June 2021, EPA-420-H-21-001). Click Here to view past webinars and upcoming webinars

Indoor Air Quality 

NEW! EPA Webinar: Innovations in Financing Environmental Asthma Home Visits Within Medicaid

September 13, 2022 | 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM EDT | Register Here

EPA’s Indoor Environments Division (IED) will showcase solutions to help communities reduce indoor environmental risks to improve asthma disparities and community health, including health care reimbursement for multi-sector workforces that deliver home environmental asthma interventions.

IED will host a series of three webinars starting on September 13, 2022, to explore ways to address the indoor environmental determinants of health (IEDOH) where they cluster—in homes and communities—with a combination of the following:

  • Health care reimbursement mechanisms in use across states to support asthma home visits.
  • Trends in health care to pay new team members (e.g., community health workers) for home visits and for new services, including some home environment modifications.
  • Best asthma care strategies that align with environmental health equity goals where health and housing sectors collaborate to deliver healthy housing solutions.
  • Contact Us via email EPAAsthmaProgram@asthmacommunitynetwork.org.

National Radon Training Event in Seattle, Washington

October 24 – 26, 2022, | Register Here

The Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors invites you to join us for our National Radon Training Event in Seattle, Washington October 24 – 26, 2022. It’s an exciting time as we get to meet again in person!  

Available Now: An Introduction to Radon Gas in Homes Webinar Recording

EPA’s Indoor Environments Division recently hosted a webinar to provide an overview of the key basic facts of radon – what it is, what it does to us, how we measure it, how we reduce our exposure, and where to find resources and additional information. A recording of An Introduction to Radon Gas in Homes is now available online. The recorded webinar features a presentation by Bruce Snead, Director of Engineering Extension at Kansas State University and director of the National Radon Program Services effort for EPA since 2009.

EPA: A Fact Sheet for Tribes on State and Tribal Indoor Radon Grants

EPA’s Indoor Environments Division is pleased to announce the State and Tribal Indoor Radon Grants (SIRG) Program Fact Sheet. This fact sheet has information on SIRG eligibility, matching requirements, allowable activities, EPA contacts, and more. EPA works collaboratively and values our tribal partnership to support healthy indoor air quality (IAQ) in tribal communities. We work together to develop tools and resources that address the health and the safety of tribal members when it comes to indoor air quality.

Please visit the Indoor Air Quality in Tribal Communities or State Indoor Radon Grants (SIRG) Program and Resources pages to learn more and download the fact sheet.

Be sure to subscribe to CodeTalk, HUD’s Office of Native American Programs newsletter, for webinars and opportunities!