UPCOMING CALLS/EVENTS/NOTICES

Ambient Air Quality/EPA/NTAA/Tribes

RadResponder webinars, links, and information

Upcoming Webinars this spring:

The CBRNResponder team conducts Special Feature Webinars each month covering various topics and capabilities. See the links below to sign up for a webinar. If you would like to request a new user webinar please contact us at support@cbrnresponder.net.

  • Event Merging: Mar. 11 (Wed) 1:00 PM ET Sign up
  • Chemical Data Types and Severity Thresholds: Apr. 15 (Wed) 1:00 PM ET Sign up
  • GIS File Management: May 12 (Tues) 1:00 PM ET Sign up

Other links and information:

 

NEW! EPA’s Air Quality System Tribal Q&A

Wednesday, March 11, 2020 2:00 PM-3:30 PM (UTC-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)

This interactive call provides an opportunity for new and experienced tribal users of EPA’s Air Quality System to hear updates on any changes to AQS and allows for any questions to be answered by AQS staff from EPA. Join Skype Meeting or join by phone: (984) 444-7480 with conference ID 11741141#.

 

Request for Applications for EPA’s American Indian Air Quality Training Program, RFA#: EPA-OAR-IO-20-03, Closing Date: March 13, 2020

EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) is soliciting applications from eligible entities to provide comprehensive air quality policy and regulatory analysis including support and national coordination activities to assist tribes in understanding, participating in, and responding to OAR’s policy and regulatory activities. The total estimated funding for this competitive opportunity is approximately $8,000,000 over five years. EPA anticipates awarding one cooperative agreement from this announcement, subject to availability of funds, the quality of applications received, and other applicable considerations.

 

Interested in Strategic Planning? Community Outreach? Enroll in ITEP’s online courses!

The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) is pleased to offer professional development training to new and seasoned tribal professionals through interactive online courses. The Tribal Strategic Planning/ETEP and Partnerships & Community Outreach courses will be available February 13 – March 20, 2020. The two online courses listed here are fee-based and have instructors to ensure your individual questions are answered in a timely manner during the course period.

Instructors:

  • Sharon Hausam, Ph.D., AICP, Pueblo of Laguna, Planning Program Manager
  • Ondrea Barber, former Director for the Gila River Indian Community’s Department of Environmental Quality and Manager for the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community’s Environmental Protection & Natural Resources Division

These online courses contain assignments, quizzes, videos, examples, and other resources. You will continue to have access to course materials after the course end date. Learn more and register for the two courses using the following links:

 

Deadline for submitting proposals for the NTFAQ has been extended to March 20, 2020

The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals and the National Tribal Air Association invite you to submit a proposal to present or conduct a session during the upcoming National Tribal Forum on Air Quality, scheduled for May 27-29, 2020 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The deadline for submitting proposals has been extended to March 20, 2020! We accept requests from tribal organizations, federal and local government agencies, colleges and universities, and other public and private sector representatives working in the field of air quality. In addition to traditional presentations or panel sessions, we encourage proposals with interactive elements, including demonstrations, roundtable discussions, listening sessions, workshopping opportunities, educational activities, special caucuses or other stakeholder meetings. To submit a request to present, or for more details on options, please visit this link.

 

DRAFT Guidance for Ozone and Fine Particulate Matter Permit Modeling: Comment by March 27, 2020
EPA is providing an opportunity for interested stakeholders to review and comment on DRAFT Guidance for Ozone and Fine Particulate Matter Permit Modeling. This guidance provides EPA’s recommendations for how a stationary source of air pollution seeking a Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit may demonstrate that it will not cause or contribute to a violation of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone (O3) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and PSD increments for PM2.5, as required under Section 165(a)(3) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and 40 CFR sections 51.166(k) and 52.21(k). This draft guidance updates EPA’s Guidance for PM2.5 Permit Modeling to reflect the 2017 revisions to the Guideline on Air Quality Models and incorporates appropriate sections for O3.  EPA requests comments on the draft guidance by Friday, March 27, 2020. This allows at least 45 days for consideration, review, and comment. The draft guidance is available on EPA’s SCRAM website.

 

Save the Date & Call for Papers: National Ambient Air Monitoring Conference

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, August 10-13, 2020. Abstracts due April 17, 2020.

EPA in conjunction with the Association of Air Pollution Control Agencies (AAPCA) and the National Association of Clean Air Agencies (NACAA) are pleased to announce the 2020 National Ambient Air Monitoring Conference.

Interested in presenting a paper or a poster at the Conference? Great! We want to hear from you. We are interested in receiving proposals related to the following technical topics: PAMS, PM2.5 and Chemical Speciation, Near Road, Air Toxics, Tribal Monitoring, Field Operations, Sensors, Quality Assurance, Data Analysis & Data Visualization, Special Studies and Emerging Issues. This year we are also considering some time on the agenda for “Lightening Talks”.  These would be 5-10 minute maximum time slots for quick presentations on issues/topics related to ambient air monitoring and data analysis. In addition, if you’re planning to present a poster, please indicate if you would be interested in giving a 1-minute lightening talk about your poster. Abstracts are required for technical presentations, technical lightening talks, and posters. Please send your one-page abstract along with a bio to Laurie Trinca (trinca.laurie@epa.gov) no later than April 17, 2020. Registration is expected open in April 2020. Additional details will be available on EPA’s website in the coming months.

 

NEW! E-Enterprise National Meeting: Envisioning the Future of Environmental Protection

EE2020 is the latest in a long-running series of meetings sponsored by E-Enterprise for the Environment and the National Environmental Information Exchange Network. On May 12-14, 2020, EE2020 will bring together a broad community of attendees from state, tribal, and local environmental agencies, U.S. EPA, vendors, and other stakeholders with an interest in improving the productivity and responsiveness of the environmental protection enterprise. The meeting integrates content on information technology, program modernization, and process improvement. Click here to learn more about EE2020, the benefits of attending, and ways to get involved.

 

Save the Date: Tribal Lands and Environment Forum on August 17-20, 2020

This year’s Tribal Lands and Environment Forum: A National Conversation on Waste and Response Strategies, will take place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 17-20, 2020. Registration, session proposal forms, travel information, and field trip announcements will all be coming soon. Stay tuned! www.nau.edu/TLEF

 

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.

 

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, March 18, 2 pm ET
Wood Smoke Work Group: Join this work group every other month to address wood smoke issues in Indian Country. Thursday, March 19, 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, March 26, 2pm ET
Mobile Sources Work Group: This monthly work group addresses all mobile source pollution issues. Thursday, April 2, 2pm ET

 
Indoor Air Quality Work Group: Join this work group every other month to help support IAQ work throughout Indian Country. Thursday, April 16, 2pm ET

 

The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professional’s (ITEP’s) Tribes 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    
Meteorological Monitoring April 14-16 TAMS Center, Las Vegas, NV 3
National Tribal Forum on Air Quality (NTFAQ) May 27-29 Tulsa, OK n/a
Air Pollution Technology Postponed: June 2020 Flagstaff, AZ 2
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

March 11, 18 and 25, Noon (ET) – Ask the Expert

Every 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

 

March 11, 1 PM (ET) – Portfolio Manager 201

Continue to learn about EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Tool with a deeper dive into more advanced functionalities such as: editing property data; correcting and updating property use details; using the data quality checker; and sharing property data.

Register

 

March 12, 1 PM (ET) – Benchmarking Water & Wastewater Treatment Plants in Portfolio Manager

This webinar features EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager, a powerful online tool that can help you track and manage your system’s energy usage and energy savings from efficiency projects, including related greenhouse gas emissions for your inventories. We will discuss how Portfolio Manager benefits water and wastewater systems, and demonstrate how you can create an account and benchmark your systems at no cost to you.

Register

 

March 16, Noon (ET) – Reducing Supply Chain Embodied Greenhouse Gas Emissions with Local Economic Benefits: The Urban Wood Project

As more companies set goals to reduce their supply chain greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions—especially from their manufactured goods and services—new collaborative opportunities and innovative approaches can help them achieve their targets. This webinar explores a new partnership in reducing a product’s embodied GHG emissions that also achieves additional community benefits. In 2018, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service brought together Humanim, a social services enterprise, and the U.S.-based furniture manufacturer and retailer Room & Board in a unique partnership aimed at improving American communities environmentally, socially and economically. Through its Urban Wood Project, reclaimed wood from Baltimore’s former housing stock was incorporated into one of Room & Board’s product lines, while also increasing local employment. In the webinar, representatives from USDA’s Forest Service, Humanim, and Room and Board discuss the partnership model, its successes, and current opportunities and challenges for scaling up.

Speakers:

  • Sarah Hines – Urban Field Station Network Coordinator, USDA Forest Service
  • Jeff Carroll – Vice-President, Humanim
  • Steve Freeman – Vendor Resource Manager, Room & Board

Register

 

March 17, 2 PM (ET) – Portfolio Manager 301

With a good background on the basic functionality of EPA’s ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager Tool, learn about some advanced features including: using spreadsheet upload templates to update property data; setting goals and targets to plan energy improvements for properties; creating custom reports; and using the Sustainable Buildings Checklist.

Register

 

March 17, 1 PM (ET) – Introduction to REopt Lite Open Source

The REopt Lite web tool helps building owners evaluate the economic viability of grid-connected PV, wind, and battery storage at a site; identify system sizes and battery dispatch strategies to minimize energy costs; and estimate how long a system can sustain critical loads during a grid outage. In this webinar, we will review REopt Lite Open Source, the latest addition to the suite of ways you can use REopt Lite for research, analysis, and project development. REopt Lite Open Source allows programmers to explore the source code to see exactly how the model works, add custom capabilities, and work with NREL to implement new features.

Register

 

March 20, 1:30 PM (ET) – Financing Climate Mitigation and Resilience: Lessons from Hawaii

View a live briefing on innovative efforts to finance and implement climate change mitigation and resilience projects. Featuring a panel from Hawaii, the briefing will explore steps the state is taking to reach carbon neutrality and run on 100 percent renewable energy by 2045. Hawaii’s top climate change official will discuss state-wide efforts to lead on climate, and the Executive Director of one of the most robust green banks in the country will speak about its unique features and how it supports companies, communities, and individuals as they work towards Hawaii’s climate goals in an equitable way.

Livecast link

 

March 24, Noon (ET) – Resilience: Helping Communities and Countries Move from Crisis to Stability

Resilience. It’s a pressing topic, but the term is frequently confused with related—yet distinct—concepts of risk reduction or adaptation. Join Abt for a free webinar to learn what resilience really means, how it is relevant to diverse stakeholders, and how to strengthen resilience at local, regional, and national scales. Speakers will describe how communities and nations experience and recover from impacts to their environment and climate, energy systems, health, and cultures, and how to develop effective resilience-building strategies.

Speakers:

Register

 

March 25, 11 AM (MT) – Energy Efficiency Projects from Concept to Completion

Once your Tribe has identified energy efficiency as a goal and considered the opportunities, the next state consists of defining and executing the project. This webinar will focus on how to move a project from concept to completion.

Register

 

March 31, 1 PM (ET) — Resilient Power in Puerto Rico – Innovative Applications of Solar+Storage to Serve Vulnerable Populations  

Since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, demand for resilient power technologies — solar PV paired with battery storage (solar+storage) — has so far resulted in over 10,000 residential and 300 critical facility systems across the island. Despite these gains, persistent energy infrastructure issues still plague the island. After the recent earthquakes, entire regions had to contend with extended blackouts. Rural communities face additional hurdles. This Clean Energy Group webinar will explore innovative solar+storage applications in vulnerable communities. Panelists will also discuss barriers to resilient power development and local workforce training initiatives.

Register

 

Call for Proposals now open: National Tribal & Indigenous Climate Conference August 31-September 4, 2020

Proposals due: April 3, 2020

The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) is honored to host the United States’ First Biennial 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 and will include a balance of Traditional Indigenous Knowledges and Western Science. We invite people to submit proposals discussing climate-related impacts, assessments, tools, adaptation planning, mitigation and actions in one or more of the following tracks:

 

  • Indigenous Knowledges
  • Air, Health & Well-Being
  • Land
  • Water
  • Relocation
  • Infrastructure
  • Energy Systems
  • Food Sovereignty
  • Ecosystems and Biodiversity

 

South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center: Earth to Sky Workshop

Earth to Sky is a partnership between NASA, NPS, and USFWS that enables and encourages informal educators to access and use relevant NASA science, data, and educational and outreach products in their work. The partnership’s focus is on climate change science and communication. Join us for three days of training with native informal educators from across the South Central region who recognize the importance of teaching climate change. The workshop will take place July 15-17 in Sulphur, OK. Learn more here.

 

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

 

Toxics/Mobile Sources

Mobility Mindsets: Shared Mobility and Personal Micromobility

Thursday, March 12, 3:00-4:30 PM (ET)

Electric vehicles are only part of what many believe is a changing transportation landscape. Other emerging trends that are sparking innovation and investment include shared mobility and personal micromobility services. Researchers are still learning under which conditions these changes can be good for the environment. This webinar will highlight potential approaches to reducing emissions via mobility options.

Register

 

Draft EPA Port-Related Emission Inventory Methodologies Document Available

The public draft of the “Methodologies for Estimating Port-Related and Goods Movement Mobile Source Emission Inventories” is now available. This document describes the latest, state-of-the-science methodologies for preparing a port-related emissions inventory for six mobile source sectors: ocean-going vessels, harbor craft, recreational marine, cargo handling equipment, onroad vehicles, and rail. This draft document reflects new data sources and model availability, and integrates the lessons learned from practical experience with EPA-Port Everglades Partnership and National Port Strategy Assessment. This document supersedes EPA’s 2009 “Current Methodologies in Preparing Mobile Source Port-Related Emission Inventories.” Interested stakeholders can send any feedback on this draft to talkaboutports@epa.gov by March 31, 2020. In addition, EPA encourages stakeholders to use this document when developing inventories.  EPA will consider any feedback received on the public draft in a future revision to this document. For more information, please visit this link.

 

Green Transportation Summit & Expo and the West Coast Collaborative Partners Meeting April 13-15, 2020

The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) and the Green Transportation Summit & Expo (GTSE) have partnered to provide 25 complimentary full-conference passes to the Green Transportation Summit & Expo in Tacoma this April 13-15. The GTSE is the Pacific Northwest’s premier clean fleet and transportation event, focusing on fleets, fuels, technologies, policy & practice, with a regional focus and a national scope. We will provide you the opportunity to see, touch, drive, and learn about new transportation technologies firsthand, such as electric, hydrogen, natural gas and propane-powered heavy-duty vehicles, off-road utility vehicles, generators, and others. Workshops on DERA, VW funding, other federal funding opportunities, and alternative fuels will be presented. Please join us at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center for the 10th annual GTSE to learn about clean transportation, how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, pollutants, and costs in your fleet operations. To learn more about the conference, check out our website. To receive the code for the complimentary passes, please contact ITEP’s Dara Marks Marino at Dara.Marks-Marino@nau.edu.

 

NEW! EPA MOVES Training

EPA has presented various webinars and training courses to assist users with MOtor Vehicle Emission Simulator (MOVES) software and inputs, and makes presentation slides available here for future reference. Subscribe to the MOVES Listserv to receive notification of upcoming webinars and courses. We have an upcoming hands-on two day MOVES training session scheduled for May 5-6 in Research Triangle Park, NC. This is part of EPA’s Air Emissions Inventory Training conference, which is free and intended for state, local, and tribal air agency members and their contractors who develop inventories and/or prepare State Implementation Plans.  For more information, see this webpage. We also make all of our training materials available for self-study on our website.

 

Indoor Air Quality

NEW! Call for Experts: Develop guidelines on protecting building occupants from smoke during wildland fires

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has agreed to support development of guidelines on building measures (e.g., air handling/filtration, etc) to reduce human exposure to smoke during wildfires.  Once finalized, these guidelines will provide valuable information for local officials, building owners and managers. Steven Emmerich of NIST will be chairing the committee to develop these guidelines, and EPA expects to have a voting member on the committee. ASHRAE committees typically include representation from: producers (e.g, manufacturers of equipment); users (e.g., building engineers and architects); and general (academics, government). We anticipate a diverse set of perspectives for this committee including membership from indoor air quality engineers, public health officials, building managers, owners, university researchers, and others.

A Call for Members is announced for the following new project committee, GPC 44P, Protecting Building Occupants from Smoke During Wildfire and Prescribed Burn Events. The Title, Purpose and Scope (TPS) is below (and on the ASHRAE website at: www.ashrae.org/tps.)

Persons who are interested in serving on this ASHRAE committee are asked to indicate their interest by completing the online membership application forms listed under Instructions for New Applicants at https://www.ashrae.org/pcmemberapp  or by contacting Steve Ferguson at: ASHRAE, 1791 Tullie Circle, N.E., Atlanta, GA 30329; phone: 678-539-1138; fax: 678- 539-2138; email Standards.Section@ashrae.org.

 

Federal Interagency Committee on Indoor Air Quality (CIAQ)

The Federal Interagency Committee on Indoor Air Quality (CIAQ) will hold its next public webinar on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, beginning at 1:00 p.m. EST.

At the meeting, CIAQ member agencies will provide updates on indoor environmental quality–related activities at their agencies, with the goal of enhancing opportunities for collaboration and coordination. Following these updates, invited presentations on topics of interest to the IAQ community include—

  1. Findings from a Meta-Analysis of the Association of Respiratory Health Effects and Dampness and Mold in Schools and
  2. The results of an assessment of Indoor Environmental Control Practices by Race/Ethnicity Among Children with Asthma in 14 US States and Puerto Rico, 2013-2014

The agenda for the March meeting will be provided on the CIAQ website shortly.

  • To register for the webinar, please visit this link.
  • For audio, participants must call toll-free (855) 883-8661 and provide the operator with the audio conference ID 4942048 when prompted.
  • If you would like to attend in person, please contact the Executive Secretariat at laureen@epa.gov with your full name and organizational affiliation; this information is needed for security purposes.

For more information on the CIAQ and its activities, click here. If you have a presentation topic or other suggestions that you would like considered for future meetings, please send it to burton.laureen@epa.gov.

 

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