May—June 2023 Newsletter

Investing in America

Regional Administrator Martha Guzman and Phoenix, Arizona, Mayor Kate Gallego recently hosted an event to highlight a $2 million grant funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The grant will allow the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to leverage funds in economically distressed areas to bring investment and revitalization, including affordable housing and community services, to underserved areas of Arizona. EPA is also offering new BIL investments for communities’ drinking water systems. BIL funding is part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda.

Twitter: Mayor Kate Gallego Thanks EPA
EPA Investing in America
EPA’s Brownfields Program
News Release: Over $50 Million to Assist Small, Underserved and Disadvantaged Communities in Accessing Clean Water
News Release: Funding to Improve Water Infrastructure for Tribes

A New Advisory Council

National Environmental Youth Advisory Council: Apply by August 22, 2023! www.epa.gov/NEYAC

Building upon EPA’s robust children’s health and environmental education programs, the agency is now seeking members for a new National Environmental Youth Advisory Council (NEYAC). The NEYAC is an opportunity for young people between the ages of 16 and 29. This group of young leaders from across the country will provide advice and recommendations on environmental issues directly to the Administrator of EPA. The NEYAC will include 16 members, and anyone can nominate themselves or someone else. Selected applicants who become members are appointed to NEYAC for a two-year term.

National Environmental Youth Advisory Council

Celebrating Environmental Education

Environmental education is a priority for EPA in the Pacific Southwest. Regional Administrator Martha Guzman has been celebrating youth and educator leaders in their communities. She recently met with a Presidential Award winner in California who provides education on drought and water conservation; at Miano Elementary School in Los Banos, California, Sergio De Alba created an education program centered on community values leading to the creation of the school’s new ecosystem-themed gardens.

Enforcement Update

Defueling and Closing Red Hill

EPA has finalized a Consent Order with the Department of the Navy and the Defense Logistics Agency that requires actions to ensure the safe defueling and closure of the Navy’s Red Hill Fuel Facility in Hawaii. This is the latest step in EPA’s oversight of the response to the November 2021 fuel release at Red Hill, as well as the process to defuel and close down Red Hill. The new Consent Order includes provisions to ensure that the Navy properly operates the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam drinking water system. "This Consent Order provides a critical tool for EPA oversight of the expeditious and safe defueling and closure of the Red Hill fuel storage facility and the drinking water system at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam,” said Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “The order reflects our agency’s commitment to ensuring that communities facing difficult and prolonged environmental challenges have an impactful voice at the table as EPA works to resolve them.”

Honolulu Star Advertiser: EPA finalizes order for defueling and closing Red Hill
Hawai'i Public Radio: EPA Official, Former Army Colonel Discuss Defueling Red Hill
About Red Hill

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EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region serves Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, the Pacific Islands, and 148 Tribal Nations.

New Support for the San Francisco Bay

EPA has added historic new Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to the San Francisco Bay Water Quality Improvement Fund for projects to improve land and water, and benefit underserved communities through the San Francisco Bay area.

Alert
Wildfire Preparedness

Wildfires and their smoke are a fact of life in the Pacific Southwest. EPA and other public agencies have resources in English and Spanish to help people prepare for wildfires.

Public Involvement

EPA in the Pacific Southwest encourages public engagement in addressing environmental issues through public meetings, events and other opportunities for public participation.