Provide funding under the inflation reduction act (IRA) to the NEZ perce tribe

This Cooperative Agreement award, issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CFDA 66.046) program, provides $8,707,461 in funding to the Nez Perce Tribe to implement greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction programs, policies, projects, and measures identified in the tribe's priority climate action plan.

Key activities to be conducted under this 5-year award include energy audits and upgrades for tribal facilities, deployment of renewable energy and energy storage, conversion of the tribal fleet to electric and hybrid vehicles with charging infrastructure, and carbon sequestration through land restoration, forest management, and afforestation projects. These efforts are expected to achieve significant cumulative GHG reductions by 2030 and provide substantial community benefits, particularly in low-income and disadvantaged areas within the Nez Perce reservation and surrounding communities in Idaho and Oregon.

Description

The purpose of this award is to provide funding under the inflation reduction act (IRA) to the NEZ perce tribe. The recipient will implement greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction programs, policies, projects, and measures identified in a priority climate action plan (pcap) developed under a climate pollution reduction grants (cprg) planning grant. Activities conducted through this grant will benefit all residents and visitors to the NEZ perce reservation, mccall and new meadows in idaho, and in joseph, oregon, through four main objectives: implementation of ambitious measures that will achieve significant cumulative GHG reductions by 2030 and beyond; pursuit of measures that will achieve substantial community benefits, particularly in low-income and disadvantaged communities; complementing other funding sources to maximize these GHG reductions and community benefits; and, pursuit of innovative policies and programs that are replicable and can be 'scaled up' across multiple jurisdictions. Activities:the activities include energy audits and upgrades for tribal government facilities, deploy renewable energy (primarily solar) and battery/energy storage capability at tribal facilities, convert the tribe's fleet to EVS, hybrids, and phevs and install electric charging infrastructure, and sequester carbon through land restoration, forest management, and afforestation projects. Subrecipient:no subawards are included in this assistance agreement.outcomes:the anticipated deliverables include: building audit and HVAC upgrades for mccall, ID fisheries office (MFO) (HVAC conversion from propane to electric); building audit for joseph, or fisheries office (JFO); install solar arrays, tesla powerwalls at MFO remote resiliency center and at ZIM's hot springs; install EV charging stations at MFO and at ZIM's hot springs; replace 65 fleet vehicles with phevs; install 7 level III chargers and 68 level II chargers; and plant over 400,000 evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs. The expected outcomes include: documentation of GHG reductions and community engagement during project and at completion; lower energy demand and expenditures, and reduced energy bills. Increase in buildings that effectively reduce occupants' exposure to wildfire smoke and resilience to extreme weather events; increase in tribal workforce skilled in building maintenance and operation to maximize GHG reduction and indoor environmental health; gain data to analyze to understand how the availability of charging may affect vehicle purchasing decisions for staff; reduction in cumulative metric tons of GHG emissions: from 2025 through calendar year 2030: 11,022 and from 2025 through calendar year 2050: 226,875. The intended beneficiaries include: the NEZ perce tribe, residents and tribal government operations, low-income residents of the reservation, tribal members and employees, tourists and visitors to wallowa county of oregon, clearwater, latah, lewis, and NEZ perce counties of idaho, and climate endangered habitats, plants, wildlife, and fish.