According to a news release from the Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA has officially established a committee that will allow Native American tribes across the country to provide more input on toxic chemical pollution and other related environmental issues.
The announcement from the EPA was made this Tuesday and is part of an effort to give Native American tribes more power and authority when it comes to protecting their public health and the environmental health of their lands. The National Tribal Toxics Committee will allow the EPA to work with individual tribes on these environmental issues while still emphasizing the importance of the sovereignty of the tribes and their cultures, values and heritage.
Assistant administrator for the EPAs Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Steve Owens commented on the accomplishment of the EPA establishing the NTTC: "As we focus on chemical safety and identify ways to reduce exposure to toxic chemicals and prevent pollution in Indian Country, it is absolutely critical that we listen to our tribal partners. We want to ensure that we address the ways that tribal members are affected by toxic substances and promote pollution prevention efforts that reflect their interests and needs."
The NTTC will involve a series of meetings and open forums, the first of which is scheduled for June 1-2 in Washington. The meetings and open forums will give tribes a way to voice their opinions on new management strategies and programs that will affect their environmental health and work with the EPA on making improvements. The main focus will be looking at the unique environmental health needs that differ in each Native American tribe. Additionally, specific issues the NTTC will address, according to the official NTTC website, include preventing lead poisoning from lead-based paint, expanding pollution prevention and exposure initiatives, and managing chemical waste on tribal lands.
Addressing lead poisoning in tribal communities has long been a major EPA initiative. According to another press release from the EPA, the federal environmental agency has developed educational and outreach programs to address and evaluate the problem of lead poisoning and exposure in Native American tribal children. The EPA has also been giving grants and federal funding to eliminate childhood lead poisoning in Indian county with the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) grants in 16 different and Federally-recognized tribes in California, Nevada, and Arizona, according to the EPAs Pacific Southwest Region 9 Lead Program website.
