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The Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma recently learned they would receive around $600,000 in stimulus funds to build a drinking water extension line to serve tribal homes with sub-standard water sources, a tribe official said Thursday.
Darren Shields, environmental director for the tribe, said the Kickapoo Tribe was awarded the funds after they applied for them through Indian Health Services. Shields said the Environmental Protection Agency’s regional office in Dallas notified the tribe earlier this week regarding the award.
“Water quality around some of our tribal homes was not up to standards as far as drinking water is concerned,” he said. “So, we need that extension to get water to those homes so they can have safe, clean drinking water.”
Shields said the tribe draws its water from four different water wells, which provide adequate drinking water to most of the tribe’s facilities and homes.
“There’s been some trial and error to try and get those homes the water they need, but nothing has worked out so far,” he said.
The funds the Kickapoo Tribe were awarded are part of a $90-million package provided by the U.S. Department of Health and the EPA to set in motion “‘shovel ready’ infrastructure projects designed to better protect human and environmental health in Indian Country,” a release from the EPA’s regional office in Dallas said.
Other Oklahoma tribes receiving similar awards from the EPA and the U.S. Department of Health include the Cherokee Nation, Otoe-Missouria Tribe, Chickasaw Nation, Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma and Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma.
Shields wasn’t sure exactly when construction would begin on the line extension, but said the project could get underway as soon as the fall.
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Andrew Knittle may be reached at 214-3926.
The Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma recently learned they would receive around $600,000 in stimulus funds to build a drinking water extension line to serve tribal homes with sub-standard water sources, a tribe official said Thursday.
Darren Shields, environmental director for the tribe, said the Kickapoo Tribe was awarded the funds after they applied for them through Indian Health Services. Shields said the Environmental Protection Agency’s regional office in Dallas notified the tribe earlier this week regarding the award.
“Water quality around some of our tribal homes was not up to standards as far as drinking water is concerned,” he said. “So, we need that extension to get water to those homes so they can have safe, clean drinking water.”
Shields said the tribe draws its water from four different water wells, which provide adequate drinking water to most of the tribe’s facilities and homes.
“There’s been some trial and error to try and get those homes the water they need, but nothing has worked out so far,” he said.
The funds the Kickapoo Tribe were awarded are part of a $90-million package provided by the U.S. Department of Health and the EPA to set in motion “‘shovel ready’ infrastructure projects designed to better protect human and environmental health in Indian Country,” a release from the EPA’s regional office in Dallas said.
Other Oklahoma tribes receiving similar awards from the EPA and the U.S. Department of Health include the Cherokee Nation, Otoe-Missouria Tribe, Chickasaw Nation, Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma and Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma.
Shields wasn’t sure exactly when construction would begin on the line extension, but said the project could get underway as soon as the fall.
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Andrew Knittle may be reached at 214-3926.
