This agreement provides funding from the infrastructure investment and jobs act (IIJA) to prairie band of potawatomi nation (pbpn)

This Cooperative Agreement award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 7, under the Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) Grant Program (CFDA 66.920), provides $414,736 to the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation (PBPN) to enhance their solid waste infrastructure and recycling capabilities. Key activities include purchasing new equipment such as a baler, waste/recycling containers, a truck, and a dump trailer, as well as conducting a cost/rate study to inform the long-term financial sustainability of PBPN's waste management program. The award also supports training staff on the new equipment and developing standard operating procedures. The expected outcomes include reducing community exposure to solid waste risks, decreasing waste generation, increasing public awareness of disposal costs, and improving the long-term viability of PBPN's recycling program. The award period is from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2026.

EPA's solid waste infrastructure for recycling (swifr) grants for tribes and intertribal consortia will fund projects that focus on encouraging environmentally sound post-consumer materials management, fund projects that will result in a decrease in the generation of municipal solid waste and/or an increase in the diversion of municipal solid waste from landfills and incineration; and/or fund projects that provide or expand access to source reduction, reuse, recycling, backhaul, anaerobic digestion, and composting for tribes and tribal members of intertribal consortia. The purpose of this award is to enhance the efforts to meet the swifr grants elements. Specifically, the recipient will purchase new critical equipment to replace aging equipment including a new baler, 200 65-gallon residential waste and recycling containers, a new extended CAB truck, a new tandem dual gooseneck dump trailer, and custom metal reinforced gates. Additionally, pbpn will hire a contractor to complete a cost/rate study which will evaluate the existing operations and develop a long-term financial model to inform future financial decisions. Activities:the activities to be performed are purchasing new equipment to improve pbpn's existing solid waste infrastructure, training staff on the operation and safety of new equipment, developing standard operating procedures for all new equipment, and working with a contractor to develop a cost/rate study that will help design a financially self-sustaining waste management program.subrecipient:no subawards are included in this assistance agreement.outcomes:the anticipated deliverables include quarterly reports, final report, documentation supporting contractor engagement, cost/rate study, and cost/rate study presentation. The expected outcomes include new equipment acquired, a cost/rate study of pbpn's waste management program, reducing community exposure to risks associated with solid waste, reducing waste materials from the waste stream, increasing public awareness and responsibility for the cost of solid waste disposal, increasing staff capacity to develop and manage solid waste programs, and increasing long-term sustainability for the solid waste recycling program. The intended beneficiaries include the people and commercial facilities of the pbpn.