News Releases from Headquarters›International and Tribal Affairs (OITA)

EPA Awards Competitive Grant to NAU’s Institute of Tribal Environmental Professionals

WASHINGTON (October 6, 2020) — Today at a virtual press conference, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Associate Deputy Administrator Doug Benevento announced that EPA will award a five-year cooperative agreement to the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) at Northern Arizona University (NAU). ITEP will receive $975,000 to administer and provide technical support for the Tribal Pesticide Program Council (TPPC), an EPA partnership group that informs tribes of pesticide issues, promotes pesticide education and awareness, and assists in the development and establishment of comprehensive tribal pesticide programs. Associate Deputy Administrator Doug Benevento was joined at the press event by EPA Assistant Administrator for Tribal and International Affairs Chad McIntosh, EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator John Busterud, EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Assistant Administrator Alexandra Dunn, ITEP Executive Director Ann Marie Chischilly, and Northern Arizona University Vice President Chad Hamill.

“EPA is excited to start a new working relationship with ITEP and improve on our past accomplishments to support tribal pesticide programs in Indian country,” said EPA Associate Deputy Administrator Doug Benevento. “Tribal governments have been working on EPA pesticide programs since the agency began 50 years ago, and the input they provide is invaluable.”

“EPA is proud of its relationship with tribal governments and the valuable input they provide to help us meet our mission of protecting human health and the environment across the country,” said EPA Office of International and Tribal Affairs Assistant Administrator Chad McIntosh. “We look forward to working with ITEP and the TPPC to advance our shared goals.”

“We are honored to be selected for this cooperative agreement and to be working with EPA to support the Tribal Pesticide Program Council,” said ITEP Executive Director Ann Marie Chischilly.

Established in 1992, ITEP’s mission is to strengthen tribal capacity and sovereignty in environmental and natural resource management through culturally relevant education, research, partnerships and policy-based services. As the recipient of the cooperative agreement, ITEP will complete a number of objectives, including identifying high-priority, pesticide-related areas of tribal interest, assisting the TPPC with comments on new rulemaking or issue papers addressing EPA policy decisions that may impact Indian country, and developing pesticide-related training for the TPPC.

Read the September 2019 TPPC Funding Opportunity Announcement - EPA-HQ-OPP-2019-003 for more information  on the cooperative agreement.

Read more about the Tribal Pesticide Program Council and EPA's tribal pesticide programs.