EPA invites Environmental Justice (EJ) advocates to participate in the next National Environmental Justice Community Engagement Call taking place on Tuesday, January 21, 2025 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time). These calls are free and open to the public.

Registration Link:  https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_EcdRWOQzQQGvWjyNdwugjw

Tentative Agenda:

• Institute for Sustainable Communities & Writing for Green
• Community Change Grants

The purpose of these calls is to inform the community and other stakeholders about EPA’s EJ work and enhance opportunities to maintain an open dialogue with EJ advocates.

Please email Farrell.Ericka@epa.gov to request reasonable accommodation for a disability or interpreter services in a language other than English, so that you can participate in the call and/or to request a translation of any of the event documents into a language other than English.

For up-to-date information about Environmental Justice funding opportunities, events, and webinars, subscribe to EPA’s Environmental Justice listserv by sending a blank email to: join-epa-ej@lists.epa.gov. Follow us on Twitter: @EPAEnvJustice

OEJECR increases meaningful engagement, enforces civil rights laws and transforms decision-making, to advance equity and justice for all, prioritizing underserved, susceptible, and overburdened communities.

Para recibir información actualizada sobre oportunidades de financiamiento de Justicia Ambiental, eventos y seminarios web, suscríbase al listserve de Justicia Ambiental de la EPA enviando un mensaje en blanco de correo electrónico a: join-epa-ej@lists.epa.gov. Síganos en Twitter: @EPAEnvJustice.

OEJECR incrementa la participación significativa, hace cumplir las leyes de derechos civiles y transforma la toma de decisiones, para fomentar la equidad y la justicia para todos, priorizando las comunidades desatendidas, susceptibles y afectadas. 

Learning from People and Place: Climate Adaptation and Restoration Action in Louisiana’s Working Coast is the theme of the next Rising Voices Center for Indigenous and Earth Sciences Workshop, which will be held in person in Thibodaux, LA. The workshop will focus on navigating place-based climate actions in Louisiana. The First Peoples’ Conservation Council of Louisiana and member Tribes are leading coastal restoration and climate adaptation actions focused on restoring marshland, protecting sacred sites, reducing land loss and flood risk, increasing Tribal resilience and a regenerative future, and land rematriation for all living relatives. Register by Jan. 31

In this training from the Administration for Native Americans (ANA), participants will gain a foundation for creating a community-based project and grant writing skills. The training will be held in person in Anchorage. 

• Register

Learn how to take your own water and soil samples to send for laboratory contaminant testing, how to test on-site for surface water fecal coliform, and how to sample and monitor for the basic water quality parameters using a YSI probe and turbidity meter. One-on-one follow-up will be provided post-training to each attendee to answer questions, troubleshoot testing, and help with writing Quality Assurance Project Plans.

• Register

Integrated pest management (IPM) is a sustainable, proactive, and effective way for school facility managers to deal with a variety of pests like rodents and insects. This webinar will highlight several IPM success stories from school facility managers representing districts around the U.S. and provide step-by-step guidance, including how to integrate IPM practices into existing staff roles and responsibilities.

• Register

The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is hosting a two-part webinar series on EPA’s newly finalized Reserved Rights Rule. This rule revises 40 CFR Part 131 to require that EPA and states consider Tribal reserved rights—such as fishing, hunting, and gathering—when establishing or revising water quality standards. (Read the fact sheet.)

Part 1 (Jan. 23) will focus on the rule’s key components and Tribal-state collaboration, featuring insights from an EPA representative and the Fond du Lac Band’s Water Projects Coordinator. Part 2 (Jan. 30) will explore state implementation challenges and opportunities, with speakers—including state agency representatives and the Native American Rights Fund—discussing legal considerations and fostering collaboration.

• Register

Ecology is preparing a 6PPD report about the life cycle of used tires to present to the Washington State Legislature and is hosting this listening session, “Reducing Sources of 6PPD: tire research, alternatives assessment, and action plan,” to receive feedback and answer questions.

• Register

This office hour hosted by the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) is open to discuss indoor air quality issues. ITEP staff will be available for your questions and a lively discussion. 

• Join on Zoom at 10:00 Alaska, 11:00 Pacific, 12:00 Mountain. Meeting ID: 659 096 3943. Password: AIAQTP
• Join by phone: Find your local number.

Looking for solutions on how to safely screen and identify hazardous waste at your transfer station or landfill? During this webinar, learn best practices for identifying hazardous materials in the trash: why screen for hazardous waste, what to look for, how to do it safely, and how to segregate and store the hazardous materials.

• Register

The Native Youth Community Adaptation Leadership Congress (NYCALC) aims to develop future conservation leaders with the skills, knowledge, and tools to address environmental change and conservation challenges to better serve their schools and home communities. Native students from Federally Recognized Tribes from across the country join to discuss community adaptation and related environmental issues impacting Native peoples. Apply by Feb. 28

EPA’s Smoke Management conference will focus on innovative approaches to smoke management, the latest research, and collaborative solutions for wildfire and prescribed burn challenges. The location has tentatively been set for Boise, ID.

• Complete the pre-conference survey by Jan. 17.
• Register

The Residential Wood Smoke Workshop, organized by EPA and the Western States Air Resources Council (WESTAR), will be held in Denver, CO. The workshop will cover a wide range of topics:

• PM2.5 NAAQS, non-attainment, and residential wood combustion
• Regulatory & voluntary wood smoke (PM2.5, toxics) reduction strategies
• Outreach and engagement strategies
• Available funding for cleaner technologies, with an emphasis on heat pumps
• Wood smoke monitoring (outdoor and indoor) and wood heater testing
• Possible technology tour at a local heating appliance store

 EPA invites your suggestions on discussion topics, challenges, and opportunities you would like to explore during the workshop. If you have recommendations for topics or speakers or are interested in presenting, contact Danielle Johnson at Johnson.Danielle@epa.gov or 919-541-1385.

• Register

This course from the State of Oregon’s Department of Emergency Management covers foundational concepts in disaster recovery and the latest guidance on recovery planning. Participants will either assess their own recovery plan or a sample against this national planning guidance. The course will be held in person in Salem, OR.

• Learn more
• Register 

Every 2 years, EPA R10’s Tribal Air Team hosts a meeting with Tribes working on or engaged in air quality. This meeting offers an opportunity to gather in-person to share our work, learn about resources, and make connections with others dedicated to protecting air quality. While we encourage in-person attendance, a virtual option is available.

•  Register

This mid-level professional development course provides an overview of the basic science and technology concepts behind common air quality management and assessment activities. After completing this course, participants will be able to characterize sources of air pollutants of concern, describe air pollution control methods & regulations, identify tools and techniques for assessing air pollutant emissions, and discuss how Tribal sovereignty impacts implementation of the Clean Air Act, including Case Studies on managing air quality on Tribal lands. The course will be held in person in Phoenix, AZ. Pre-Requisite: Participants should have completed ITEP’s online or in person Introduction to Tribal Air Quality course.

• Apply by Jan. 15.

EPA and the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators are hosting this extended webinar, which will include talks given at EPA’s Annual Drinking Water Workshop September 17-19, 2024. Presentations will include overviews of lead corrosion and release basics, research on pipe scale sampling and analysis, best practices for starting and maintaining corrosion control treatment, Ohio’s lead strategy and engagement toolkit, and the impact of Michigan’s Safe Drinking Water Act on compliance lead service line sampling and system and customer communication. 

• Register for the webinar.
• Learn about the annual drinking water workshop.

The Northwest Forest Plan Just Futures Group is working to highlight Tribal inclusion and environmental justice in amending the Northwest Forest Plan. This plan could shape federal land management across the Pacific Northwest for decades. The draft environmental impact statement was released in November and the comment period will end in early February. Discuss the plan at the Amplifying Tribal Inclusion and Environmental Justice in Federal Land Management Symposium from 12:00–5:00 in the EMU Redwood Auditorium at the University of Oregon. 

• Contact Sarah Wald, sdwald@uoregon.edu, for more information. 

This training will provide the foundational knowledge and resources needed for Tribes to develop their chemical emergency planning frameworks. This will include how to develop a Tribal Emergency Response Commission or a Tribal Emergency Planning Committee, as well as interactions between Tribes, States, regulated facilities, and locals.

• Find instructions on how to join the webinar on the Tribal Oil Spill Prevention and Chemical Emergency Preparedness Webinars page.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Climate Adaptation Planning: Guidance for Emergency Managers helps emergency managers incorporate climate adaptation into emergency management planning. The document walks state, local, Tribal, and territorial partners through the Six Step Planning Process, as identified in “Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101: Developing and Maintaining Emergency Operations Plans.” FEMA has also released a short video summarizing how emergency managers can incorporate climate into the Six Step Planning Process. Supporting documents are available on the Planning Guides page.

This has been shared before, but in case you missed it, EPA’s American Indian Environmental Office has teamed up with the Indian Health Service (IHS) to make on-demand training courses available to Tribal staff through the Solid Waste Association of North America.  When you register, you will get a username/password to access the trainings. 

• Find a course
• Register 

Developed by the EPA’s Watershed Academy, this module explores the Clean Water Act (CWA) as a guiding framework to highlight water equity challenges and watershed management opportunities. It explains the basics of environmental justice, provides a brief overview of 10 cornerstone CWA programs that drive surface-water quality protection, and outlines clear opportunities for the public to engage in the CWA process.

• Take the training

This annual conference will include discussion of innovations being used in partnerships, projects, coordination, community involvement, and funding to integrate salmon recovery with other interests while reflecting diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. We believe many of you have great stories to tell in this arena. The Columbia River Basin Toxics Monitoring Subgroup is coordinating a proposal to provide the latest toxics research information to the salmon recovery community who often don’t hear about toxics.

The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP), the Indian Health Service (IHS), and EPA are offering the “Development and Implementation of Tribal Solid Waste Codes and Ordinances” training course. The course includes online training, self-paced online assignments, and an in-person workshop to focus on developing and implementing effective Tribal solid waste codes. 

• January 27-30, 2025: Online Training Week
• February 19, 2025: Online Half-Day Training
• April 8-10, 2025: In-Person Workshop
  
  • Apply by Dec. 11.

With funding from EPA, the Indian Health Service (IHS) is offering a wide variety of trainings for Tribal solid waste professionals. The course provides up to 11 months of unlimited access to on-demand safety trainings for solid waste collections, transfer stations, and landfills. In addition to individual webinars and lesson collections, safety certification is available. Training topics include emergency response, equipment safety, first aid, machine maintenance, workplace hazards, and much more. Some in-person classes are also available.

• Register