Reservation to break ground on wastewater plant
Friday morning Tule River tribe, state, federal and local officials will gather to celebrate the start of construction on the Tule River Tribe’s $8.1 million wastewater treatment plant.
Ground will be broken at 11 a.m. on the reservation. The ground breaking will include presentations on the project as well as traditional Native American ceremonial celebrations.
Officials say the plant is long overdue. There is no sewage treatment on the reservation.Until now, the approximately 285 homes on the reservation all have septic systems. The project includes connecting 268 homes.
“The issue for them is two-fold,” said Erskine Benjamin, environmental engineer with the federal Environmental Protection Agency, “public health and adequate wastewater service.”
The majority of the funding — $6.3 million — is coming from the EPA as a American Recovery and Reinvestment Act project. The California Indian Health Service has kicked in an additional $1.8 million.
The funding for the Tule tribe project has been proclaimed to be the largest American Recovery and Reinvestment Act award funded by the California Indian Health Service and the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
“It’s going to be huge for the people up here,” said Dan Hackey, spokesperson for the tribe.
Seven tribes in California earned grants in 2009 to improve water and sewer services. Nationwide, $90 million was awarded.
According to Margot Perez-Sullivan, an EPA spokesperson, the local project will provide service to more than 850 residents. She said the plant will be constructed to allow for expansion. The plant will only service domestic users, not the casino which has its own plant, she said.
Included in the project is 6.9 miles of pipeline and 371 connections. The plant will be able to handle 0.1 million gallons of flow and will be constructed on more than 7 acres.
Perez-Sullivan said septic tanks are safe, but there is a lot of maintenance needed. Also, not having septic tanks ensures cleaner ground water on the reservation.
Benjamin said a 2007 study revealed that tanks and drain fields had failed on 30 percent of the homes.
“The project is going to reduce the health risks right now,” he added.
Perez-Sullivan said the EPA has a goal in the region to reduce the number of homes lacking drinking and basic sanitation services by 50 percent by 2015.
The $8.1 million will only cover construction of the plant. How to cover the monthly cost of running and maintaining the plant has yet to be decided.
Federal officials said that on tribal lands, 10 percent of homes lack access to safe drinking water compared to less than one percent of non-native homes.
“Together with the Indian Health Service, EPA is using Recovery Act funds to provide much-needed support for water and wastewater systems in Indian Country,” said Laura Yoshii, acting regional administrator for the U.S. EPA in the Pacific Southwest. “This funding creates jobs for tribal members, addresses critical infrastructure needs and will increase access to drinking water and basic sanitation services. By 2010, over 4,400 tribal homes in the Pacific Southwest are expected to receive piped drinking water or basic sanitation services for the first time.”
