Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes

EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) has initiated Tribal consultation on the implementation of ORD research – Throughout 2018, ORD implemented a rigorous engagement process to solicit research needs from our partners in EPA’s programs and regions, states, and Tribes. Many of the research needs expressed by Tribes mirrored environmental concerns from EPA programs, regions and the states. This strategic, program-needs identification process concluded in September 2018 with the development of draft Strategic Research Action Plans (StRAPs) for ORD’s national research programs. To initiate the consultation discussion, ORD has proposed charge questions on specific products associated with four of the six ORD research programs, including: 

  1. Air and Energy
  2. Chemical Safety for Sustainability
  3. Safe and Sustainable Water Resources
  4. Sustainable and Healthy Communities

A copy of the consultation letter and plan are attached, and can be located on EPA’s Tribal Consultation Opportunities Tracking System website at: https://tcots.epa.gov. The consultation plan includes a description of the four research products and charge questions that will be the focus of the consultation. Consultation period of November 1, 2019 – December 31, 2019.  

 

EPA Tools and Resources Webinar: FRMs/FEMs and Sensors: Complimentary Approaches for Determining Ambient Air Quality

December 18, 2019 at 3:00 to 4:00 PM ET

On a worldwide basis, the World Health Organization estimates that approximately 4 million people die annually from health impacts due to exposure to ambient air pollution. In the U.S., the Clean Air Act sets national limits for ambient concentrations of six “Criteria Pollutants” (CO, O3, SO2, NO2, Pb, and particulate matter) known to cause adverse health effects. The Act also requires nationwide monitoring of these pollutants using only instruments, which have been formally approved by U.S. EPA as either Federal Reference Methods (FRMs) or Federal Equivalent Methods (FEMs). Although the overall pollutant measurement performance of these FRM/FEM instruments is widely recognized to produce reproducible data of high quality, these regulatory instruments do not fulfill all possible monitoring needs. In recent years, smaller, lower cost, direct-reading air sensors have been developed to address the limitations of the FRM/FEM instruments. While these sensors do not provide regulatory type data, they fulfill the needs for more portable, lower cost instruments that support community science, spatial distribution studies, hotspot identification, public education, and personnel monitoring studies.

   This webinar will discuss the relative advantages and disadvantages of the regulatory FRM/FEM instruments and of the sensor-based instruments used for non-regulatory monitoring. The complementary nature of these two measurement approaches will be discussed for determining ambient air quality based on specific monitoring objectives. Additional information about FRM/FEM instruments and quality assurance and control procedures can be found in The Ambient Monitoring Technology Information Center (AMTIC) located here, while additional information and resources about sensors can be found in the Air Sensors Toolbox located here. Andrea Clements and Robert Vanderpool of EPA’s Office of Research and Development will present this webinar. 

To join this webinar, please register here. For audio, dial: (866) 299-3188, access code: 202-564-6669 or you will be able to listen through your computer speakers.

 

Tribal Consultation Opportunity: Implementation of the Office of Research and Development’s Research

End date: December 31, 2019

More information on the TCOTS website.

 

NEW! Virgil Masayesva Excellence Award and TAMS Steering Committee

The TAMS Center is announcing a call for nominations for the Virgil Masayesva Tribal Air Programs Excellence Award and three (3) positions on the TAMS Steering Committee.  Further information and the nomination forms are online and can be accessed at: Virgil Masayesva Excellence Award Nomination Form and TAMS Steering Committee Nomination Form. The deadline to submit the nominations is February 28, 2020. We sincerely appreciate your time to consider submitting a nomination. For further information, please contact either Farshid Farsi, TAMS-EPA Codirector (Farsi.Farshid@epa.gov or 702-784-8263), or Christopher Lee, TAMS-ITEP Codirector (christopher.lee@nau.edu). 

 

Tribal Grants Education and Technical Assistance Webinar Series Second Wednesday of Every Month at 1pm ET 

For more information, click here!

 

NTAA Upcoming Calls. The toll-free number is 1-800-309-2350. If you do not need to call toll free, or would like to help conserve NTAA funding, you can call 1-805-309-2350. Both numbers use code 928-523-0526#. 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 roll-call, ultimately saving everyone’s time.

 

Indoor Air Quality Work Group: Join this work group every other month to help support IAQ work throughout Indian Country.  Thursday, December 19, 2pm ET
STAR Planning Call: The NTAA Status of Tribal Air Report (STAR) helps tell the story of Tribal Air Programs, why additional funding for Tribes is critical to advance air quality, and is a great resource for Tribes. Wednesday, January 8, 2 pm ET
Mobile Sources Work Group: This monthly work group addresses all mobile source pollution issues. Thursday, January 9, 2pm ET
Wood Smoke Work Group: Join this work group every other month to address wood smoke issues in Indian Country. Thursday, January 23, 2pm ET
EPA Policy Call: Call in to hear updates from EPA on policies, actions, and tools relevant to Indian Country and Air Quality. Thursday, January 30, 2pm ET

 

The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professional’s (ITEP’sTribes and Climate Change Calendar includes conferences, trainings, webinars and other events related to tribes and climate change. 

Click here for ITEP’s other trainings and events. 

Click here for ITEP’s new Tribal Environmental Management and Planning Online Courses. New courses have been added, so check it out!

 

 ITEP’s FY20 AIAQTP Course Schedule 

 

Course Title Dates Location Course Level
2020
Introduction to Tribal Air Quality January 14-17 Flagstaff, AZ 1
Indoor Air Quality Diagnostic Tools January 28-31 TAMS Center, Las Vegas, NV 2
Air Quality Computations February 11-14 Phoenix, AZ 1
Fundamentals of Air Monitoring February 25-27 TAMS Center, Las Vegas, NV 2
Indoor Air Quality Diagnostic Tools in Alaska March 3-6 AK – TBD 2
Air Pollution Technology March 10-13 Flagstaff, AZ 2
Meteorological Monitoring April 14-16 TAMS Center, Las Vegas, NV 3
National Tribal Forum on Air Quality (NTFAQ) May TBD
Air Pollution Modeling Fall 2020 TAMS Center, Las Vegas, NV 3
Air Quality Outreach TBD TBD 1
Air Quality Planning for Wildland Smoke Anytime Series of 6 recorded webinars n/a
Indoor Air Quality – Independent Study Anytime Independent Study 1
Building Performance: Improving IAQ in Cold Climates Open Online 1
Building Performance: Improving IAQ in Warm Climates In development Online 1
Residential Building Science Review Open Online 1
Radon Fundamentals Open Online 1
Quality Assurance Fundamentals (QA 101) Open Online 1
Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) (QA 201-209) Open Online 2
Emissions Inventory Fundamentals Open Online 2
Emissions Inventory Advanced Open Online 3
Note: This schedule is subject to change.  For up-to-date information, course descriptions, and applications please visit http://www7.nau.edu/itep/main/Training/training_air/ 

 

Climate Change / Energy

December 18, Noon (ET) – Ask the Expert

Every other Wednesday ENERGY STAR holds a Portfolio Manager “Ask the Expert” session. It’s a live webinar that gives all users an opportunity to ask their questions directly to EPA experts in an open forum. Want to talk to a “real” person? Have a question about how Portfolio Manager calculates your score? Want to learn more about entering Green Power? Join ENERGY STAR, and they’ll answer all your questions about ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager in this public forum.

Register

 

8th Annual Rising Voices Workshop: Climate Resilience through Intergenerational and Place-based Knowledges

April 29 – May 1, 2020

In partnership with the Lummi Nation and the Northwest Indian College

Applications due: Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Learn more and apply here.

 

Planning to apply for an EE Grant? Consider joining EE Grant Program staff on a webinar where we will discuss how to write a competitive application and address commonly asked questions related to the 2020 EE Local Grants Request for Applications (RFA). Join the 2020 EE Local Grants Program Webinar

Date and Time: The presentation will be offered between 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET and we will answer your questions from 2:00-2:30 p.m. ET on December 20th, 2019. Please enter the webinar as a guest. You do not need to register in advance.

Join the December 20, 2019 (1:00-2:30 p.m. ET) EE Grants webinar

The webinar slides, transcript and/or a recording will be posted on our website following the first webinar. For full information, including the Request for Applications and Frequently Asked Questions, please visit this link.

For questions regarding the EE Grants Program, please email eegrants@epa.gov.

 

NEW! Tribal Climate Health Project 2020 Webinar Series: eight webinars on the third Tuesday of the month (9-10:30am PT) from January 21 – August 18

The Tribal Climate Health Project, an initiative of the Pala Band of Mission Indians/Pala Environmental Department, is pleased to announce the 2020 Tribal Climate & Health Adaptation Regional Cohort Webinar Series. Please visit our website for more information on how to register for this informative and engaging webinar series. This FREE interactive training is offered through a series of eight live webinars scheduled on the third Tuesday of the month (9:00 – 10:30am PT) from January 21, 2020 through August 18, 2020. The training will provide steps, tools, templates, case studies, and other resources that seek to streamline the adaptation planning process and make it easier for tribal health and environmental professionals to understand and address human health exposures and impacts within tribal communities. This training will summarize the latest data and literature on the exposures and impacts of climate change that may impact the health of tribal community members. It will also describe how to identify and select appropriate strategies to address these exposures and impacts.

 

NEW! Save the Date! National Tribal & Indigenous Climate Conference August 31-September 4, 2020

The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) is honored to host the

United States’ First annual National Tribal and Indigenous Climate Conference

(NTICC) along with support from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Tribal Resilience Program. The NTICC is open to all US tribal nations and Indigenous Peoples from throughout the world, with an emphasis on including our Elders and Youth. The NTICC will convene experts on climate change, which will include a balance of Western Science and Traditional Indigenous Knowledges. Topic areas will address: impacts, assessments, adaptation, mitigation, implementation, and solutions. This conference will allow an opportunity to share information and support one another. We welcome all to join us in 2020!

 

ITEP’s Climate Change Adaptation Training Courses registration is online! Learn more about the courses and register here.

 

Toxics/Mobile Sources 

 

Indoor Air Quality

January 2020 National Radon Action Month Webinar Series

Four webinars will be conducted in January. Space is limited, so register here soon!

  • January 9, 11-11:30am ET. Radon: A Primer for Everyone
  • January 16, 11-11:30am ET. Radon Resources for Health Care Providers
  • January 21, 11-11:30am ET. ANSI Standards Now Available for FREE
  • January 30, 11-11:30am ET. Elevated Radionuclides in Private Wells

 

National Radon Action Month Resources

Did you know that winter is the best time to test homes for radon? Take action for National Radon Action Month (NRAM) and finalize your education and outreach efforts for January and beyond. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) makes raising awareness and community outreach easy by providing several outreach activity ideas. These include informative videos and public service announcements (PSAs), a radon outreach and event planning kit with implementation tips, and radon testing e-cards to send to friends. Access and download your free radon resources today by clicking on the link above.

 

EPA’s Residential Wood Smoke Workshop in New Orleans, March 10-12, 2020

More information can be found here, or contact Larry Brockman, brockman.larry@epa.gov, 919-541-5398.

Workshop Background Information: Workshop participants will include state, local, tribal, federal and non-profit organization personnel.  Workshop participants will discuss residential wood heating/combustion program issues, opportunities, challenges, lessons learned, and partnerships as outlined in the draft agenda. This Workshop will be held in conjunction with the Hearth, Patio and Barbeque Association (HPBA) Trade Show/Expo, which offers Workshop participants a valuable opportunity to tour the Trade Show floor and meet with industry representatives.  At the Expo a wide variety of hearth technologies are on display including cordwood, wood pellet, coal and gas stoves, wood-fired central heating system.  You do not need to register for the HBPA Expo – by registering for the Wood Smoke Workshop you will receive a name tag-pass for the Expo. The Workshop is being coordinated and supported by EPA, the Western States Air Resources Council, the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management and National Tribal Air Association. 

 

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