Dive Brief:

• The U.S. EPA announced $300 million in grants to tribal communities for projects meant to address climate change and air pollution issues. That includes $21 million dedicated specifically to waste, recycling and organics projects.
• Five tribes received waste reduction-related funding through the agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program, including efforts to improve recycling programs, establish a renewable natural gas plant and expand organics recycling. 
• In a separate announcement, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration revealed $23 million in federal funding for marine debris removal and mitigation, including projects meant to capture litter before it can enter waterways. Some of the projects also address pollution in tribal communities.

Dive Insight:

The EPA’s climate change grant project and NOAA’s marine debris grants, authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law respectively, are the latest in federal climate change and waste prevention funding meant to curb pollution, including in historically underfunded or disadvantaged areas.

Centering tribes and their specific climate pollution projects is an important next step in investing in communities that have been on the “front lines” of pollution and climate change issues for decades, said EPA Administrator Michael Regan during a press call Wednesday. 

“Composting and recycling is one of the vital ways that we see for reducing greenhouse gas pollution, but also dealing with food insecurity” and other challenges, he said.

The EPA’s 34 chosen climate projects — including 33 tribal recipients and the Municipality of Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands — address waste reduction efforts as well as energy efficiency programs, electrification efforts and other climate initiatives. Combined, these projects could cut greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2030, the EPA said.

The tribal grant funding round comes shortly after the EPA announced millions in Climate Pollution Reduction grants for state and local government agencies. That round funded a range of waste-related initiatives in Colorado, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Virginia and Washington.

The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska are expected to receive nearly $15 million to expand composting infrastructure in the communities of Wrangell, Hoonah, Petersburg, Yakutat and Juneau. The project will also help set up workshops and training sessions on proper composting techniques for community members. The composting efforts are meant to help divert more material from disposal, reduce landfill emissions and reduce the energy demand of shipping waste, according to EPA grant information.

The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community in Arizona is expected to receive $9.75 million for numerous environmental improvements, namely an RNG plant project at the tribe’s Salt River Landfill. The project aims to pipe converted landfill gas off-reservation through an existing natural gas pipeline for reuse, “providing a transformative opportunity to reduce methane emissions and promote renewable energy generation,” according to the EPA.

The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians is expected to receive $7.76 million for several climate programs, including a project to expand the tribe’s recycling capacity by upgrading infrastructure and adding a new commercial front-loading recycling truck and 30 new commercial recycling containers. The grant will also fund solar panels, heat pumps and other improvements in the community.

The Spirit Lake Tribe in North Dakota expects to receive about $7.28 million in grants for numerous projects, including a project to build a hazardous waste drop-off center and give recycling bins to 1,000 households in the tribal community.

The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi, based in the southwestern Michigan region, is slated to receive $1.18 million for several projects, including expanding and upgrading the Tribe's commercial and residential recycling program. It also plans to convert 23 commercial vehicles to EVs and work on habitat restoration projects.

For NOAA’s $23 million in grant funding, the projects focus both on removal and on prevention aspects, including programs targeting derelict fishing gear, abandoned vessels and litter. Some of the programs will partner with state or local agencies, while others will partner with local tribes impacted by the pollution.

The Ocean Conservancy is expected to receive more than $5.2 million for wide-ranging marine debris programs in Alaska and Florida. The organization will partner with the Yakutat Tlingit Tribe for some of the work along Alaska’s coasts. 

Washington State Department of Natural Resources received about $1 million to partner with the Squaxin Island Tribe to remove abandoned vessels in the South Puget Sound, which are on tidelands owned by the tribe. The pollution is on “critically important cultural, recreation, and subsistence” land, NOAA said.

The EPA recently announced it will soon make available about $3.48 million for two, five-year collaborative agreements meant to offer tribal governments training, technical assistance or other tools. The goal is to help “build capacity on waste management, cleanup, pollution prevention, and emergency response programs in Indian country.” Applications are due October 10.