We are always proud to see the good work of our alums. This week we get to highlight some of that work. Heather Tanana, previously a member of the Law and Policy Program, is doing as the team lead for the Universal Access to Clean Water for Tribal Communities Initiative (UACW). She previously wrote on this blog about her personal experience with the water gap in the Navajo nation. According to UACW’s research, 48 percent of tribal homes lack access to reliable water sources, clean drinking water, or basic sanitation. A few months later, Heather brought her research and personal experience to Congress, when she testified that “sympathy alone cannot close the water gap in Indian Country.”
Last week, UACW launched its Tribal Handbook on Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act Funding for clean drinking water infrastructure. The handbook serves as a critical reference guide for tribes seeking to access and use funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to increase, improve, and maintain access to safe and clean drinking water.
Together, the BIL and IRA provide the largest federal investment to date in upgraded infrastructure and climate resilience, including unprecedented amounts for universal clean drinking water and enhancing resilience to drought and climate change. As a part of this investment, the two federal acts offer targeted funding to address the drinking water needs of tribal communities. However, it is often hard for tribes to access this funding. As Heather explained,
“While substantial and unprecedented levels of funding have been made available through the BIL and IRA, moving funds from the agencies into the hands of tribes is proving to be challenging. There are multiple agency funding sources, differing application and awarding processes, and varying types of projects and activities eligible for funding. In addition, most of this money is strictly time limited.” The handbook released last week was designed to close the information gap and ultimately help close the water gap in Indian Country.
As John Echohawk observed in the foreword to the handbook, “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to address the unforgivable disparity in access by the Native American population to a basic component of human existence—clean water to drink.”
By transforming the federal approach to tribal water access, UACW envisions a future where federal funds are effectively used, resources are adequately secured, and tribal water access challenges are significantly mitigated over the next 20 years.
We say, keep it up Heather and UACW!
See the complete handbook and earlier reports and learn more at tribalcleanwater.org.
Jamie Pleune is an associate professor of law (research) and a member of the Law and Policy Group in the Wallace Stegner Center.