Two pueblos awarded more than $600,000 to address water, environment

More than $600,000 is headed to a pair of pueblos in New Mexico to support clean water, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced last week.

The Pueblo of Taos in northern New Mexico was awarded $318,634 and the Pueblo of Tesuque, located in the Sangre de Cristo foothills, was awarded $297,375 through the EPA’s Indian Environmental General Assistance Program and Clean Water Act grants.

“These funds represent EPA’s unwavering commitment to supporting Tribal programs,” EPA Regional Administrator Scott Mason said in a statement.

Taos Pueblo will use its funds for community outreach to ensure tribal members have updates on the pueblo’s environmental program, according to the news release. 

The money will also be used to create an emissions inventory for winter and summer to get a clearer understanding of what emissions are affecting the pueblo. Taos Pueblo will also review the process for air monitoring, decrease non-point pollution, review and maintain surface water quality monitoring operations and grow the Tribal Water Quality Program.

The Pueblo of Tesuque will use the money to improve water quality in rivers, lakes, streams and groundwater, according to an EPA news release. The dollars will also go toward surface water quality monitoring and ensuring an underground water storage tank is in compliance with regulations. The pueblo will also use some of the funding to continue community outreach.