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Grant: $363,000 |
Outline of Need: The Uintah and Ouray Reservation has a current need to replace and upgrade the solid waste equipment used on their reservation to prevent illegal dumping. The roundtrip distance to the county landfill is 50 miles and has added to the wear on this equipment. The age and original quality of the equipment has cost the community in extremely expensive repairs and maintenance fees. This project will enhance efforts to establish a long-term solution to these problems. |
How Rural Development Helped:
Rural Development awarded a grant of $318,800 to the Tribe in September 2002, for the first phase of a solid waste disposal project. Funding partners were the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for $180,000 and Indian Health Service (HIS) for $200,000. Funds were used to purchase two garbage trucks and a loader. This project is a continuation of what we were unable to fund this past year. USDA Rural Development has approved a new grant in the amount of $363,000 under the Native American 306C Water and Waste Set-Aside Program to fund this second phase of the solid waste disposal project. This funding will provide for the purchase of a truck, trailer and excavator. These additional items are critical in the management of their solid waste efforts and will enhance the cleanup and prevention of illegal dumping on the reservation.
The Results:
Overall, the population served by this project is Native American with a median household income of 47.5 percent of the state nonmetropolitan household income. Income level is 79 percent of the national poverty level. Unemployment is 8 times higher than State or national levels.
The sanitation department's ability to divert trash that has been destined for ditches, ravines and riverbanks will be substantially improved when they receive the equipment necessary for handling large items.
In the past, tribal departments have contributed trucks, loaders, personnel and fuel for cleanup events. The tribe environmental office did all the public relations and volunteer organizing. They limited the wear on garbage trucks by paying private contractors to haul from the transfer station to the county landfill. Rural Development's partnership with Indian Health Services, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Environmental Protection Agency and Rural Community Assistance Corporation has brought about sustainable long-term solutions to these problems facing the community.
As a result of our efforts, the tribe will cleanup illegal dumpsites and reclaim sites for new housing construction. Residents will have cuBusiness Programside collection of solid waste and people with disabilities will have a unique "wheel out" service to help them get their collection containers to the cuBusiness Programside. Generally, this community will make significant headway in dealing with significant risks to human health and the environment in which they live.
We will have an event with the Ute Tribe with a plaque to be presented to commemorate the special Earth Day project.
Pictured, above: (L to R) Stacey Nephi, Ute Tribal Utilities Director; Floyd Wopsock, Ute Tribal Chairman; Ronald Wopsock, Ute Tribal Business Committee; and Bonnie Carrig, USDA Rural Development.
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