News Releases from Region 06

EPA Grant to Pueblo of Tesuque Will Support Water Quality Testing

Media contacts: Jennah Durant or Joe Hubbard, R6Press@epa.gov or 214 665-2200

DALLAS – (June 9, 2020) Recently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a grant to the Pueblo of Tesuque for $31,508. The funds will be used for water quality testing in the Pueblo’s three main streams. EPA is providing the funding as a multipurpose grant under a cooperative agreement.

“By supporting the Pueblo of Tesuque’s program to sample and assess water quality, this grant will also help the Pueblo protect and improve their water resources,” said Regional Administrator Ken McQueen. “The Pueblo will continue to be a valuable partner in environmental stewardship.”

Under the cooperative agreement, the grant will fund activities that complement and support existing environmental program grants. The Pueblo will use the funding to study water quality in three streams Rio Tesuque, Rio En Medio and Rio Chupadero.The Pueblo will test these water bodies to find the most common strain of E. coli bacteria, and to establish baseline levels of turbidity, which measures solids that make water look murky. The Pueblo will also participate in a national project to evaluate nutrient thresholds for wadeable, perennial streams.

EPA multipurpose grants are available to tribes that have been delegated federal regulatory authority through the treatment in a similar manner to a state provisions found in federal environmental statutes. Through these grants, EPA and its tribal partners will advance priorities to deliver environmental and public health results across the nation.

More on EPA’s work in New Mexico: https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/nm

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About EPA Region 6: https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/aboutepa/epa-region-6-south-central  

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