EPA sends Kickapoo Tribe $282K for pollution control
Recent grants from the Environmental Protection Agency will allow the Kickapoo Tribe to clean up illegal dump sites, mitigate pollution runoff and better monitor its water.
The EPA awarded the central Oklahoman tribe $282,357 through the agency’s performance partnership grants. Darren Shields, the tribe’s environmental director, said the Kickapoo have received PPG funds since 2012.
“The PPG is a vehicle that allows us to combine individual environmental program grants into one to streamline administrative requirements and provide us the flexibility to direct resources to pressing problems such as repairing failing septic systems or cleaning up illegal dump sites,” Shields said in an email Tuesday.
It includes a Clean Water Act grant for assessing surface water and groundwater quality, along with a Tribal Nonpoint Source Pollution grant for addressing water concerns.
“This grant will allow the Kickapoo Tribe the ability to
Our environmental staff will continue to work tirelessly to protect natural resources, promote good stewardship, and deliver results despite budget limitations.” Kickapoo Chairman David Pacheco Jr.
apply environmental funds where it is needed the most — addressing water pollution,” said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt.
The EPA says its grants will assist the Kickapoo in building environmental protection programs for indoor air, underground storage tanks and hazardous waste.
Kickapoo Chairman David Pacheco Jr. said in a news release that EPA dollars support all of the tribe’s environmental work, a partnership he expects will strengthen with Pruitt, an Oklahoman, overseeing the EPA.
“Our environmental staff will continue to work tirelessly to protect natural resources, promote good stewardship, and deliver results despite budget limitations,” Pacheco said.