U.S. EPA Mountains and Plains Region

Honored to visit with both the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe in Colorado 🤝 EPA Region 8 and American Indian Environmental Office leaders met with Tribal leadership to strengthen our government-to-government partnership and advance shared priorities including clean air and water 💧, healthy lands 🌿, and resilient communities 🌎. Together, we’re charting strong paths forward.

Regional Administrators Mason ( ) and Western ( ) talked about how EPA is with The Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma.

EPA’s focus on partnerships and cooperative federalism means working with stakeholders to ensure timely permits and common-sense regulations so we can restore American .

U.S. EPA South Central Region

It's wildfire 🔥season in the west, and even if there's not a fire in your area, you might be impacted by one (or more) thanks to smoke! Indoor air quality -- especially during smoke events -- can impact your health and comfort in big ways. Luckily, there are some easy ways you can improve air quality in your own living spaces, but what about community spaces like schools, libraries and offices?

We've got you covered! The Wildfire Smoke Preparedness in Community Buildings is a federal grant program to enhance community wildfire smoke preparedness. The program can provide grants to states, federally recognized Tribes, public pre-schools, local educational agencies, and non-profit organizations for the assessment, prevention, control, or abatement of wildfire smoke hazards in community buildings and related activities.

The grant application for this year just closed in April, but awardees from past years are still working hard to improve, monitor and educate, and protect indoor air quality for all community members. Find out more about indoor air quality at the link below ⬇️🔗
https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq

On the road again with RA Western!🤠✈️

First stop: Moran, Wyoming, where RA Western and our Headquarters and Region 8 colleagues attended the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (ASTSWMO) meeting. It was a great opportunity to collaborate on Brownfields, hazardous waste, materials management, Superfund programs, and continuing to strengthen our stewardship across the West.🏔️

Next stop: Park City, Utah, where RA Western and Chief of Staff Woodward joined the Gigawatt Summit hosted by Gov. Spencer J. Cox . RA Western participated in a panel and met with national leaders and our Administrator, Lee Zeldin , to discuss the Great American Comeback and advancing U.S. leadership in AI. RA Western and Administrator Zeldin also toured local water treatment facilities to see on‑the‑ground operations and partnerships that support clean, reliable water.🚰

Grateful to our state, Tribal, and community partners for the warm welcome and collaboration.💪

Last month, Region 8 officials traveled to North Dakota for a visit focused on partnership and progress. 💪 Officials toured the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation's Native Green Grow greenhouse, permitted by EPA, to see firsthand how local food production and sustainability efforts are making an impact. 🌿 Using natural gas from nearby oil and gas wells, the Tribe is able to power the greenhouses to grow food year-round, providing healthy community-grown produce to the community no matter the weather conditions. ☀️

The team also attended the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference, engaging with industry leaders and partners on the future of energy and environmental stewardship. 🛢🤝

From field to lab, start to finish. 🏁Our EPA Region 8 colleagues are training on best practices in water-quality sampling to produce accurate data that safeguards waters across CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, and WY.💧This ensures that we can support our local, state and Tribal communities.💪

From field to lab, start to finish. 🏁Our EPA Region 8 colleagues are training on best practices in water-quality sampling to produce accurate data that safeguards waters across CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, and WY. 💧This ensures that we can support our local, state and Tribal communities.💪

What happened across Region 8 in May? 🧐

✅ Major Investments in Drinking Water Systems to Address PFAS and Lead Service Lines
✅ Guidance on Flaring at Oil Wells to Promote American Energy Dominance
✅ New Interactive Map Breaking Down Permitting Authorities: https://www.epa.gov/permits/epa-permitting-authority-map

🔗Learn more and keep up with all the latest news from EPA: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/search

Water 💧 has literally shaped the landscape of the American West, and continues to do so today. From carving landmarks like the Grand Canyon and Black Canyon of the Gunnison to determining where people settled and succeeded, water has always been a critical resource for the arid and semi-arid areas of Region 8 and beyond.

Self-governing water pump windmills like the one in this post were a common sight throughout the west, and can still be seen dotting the landscape. They allowed settlement in areas where there was little or no surface water and powered the westward expansion by steam locomotive.
Sandstone potholes in Utah form ephemeral ecosystems, with animals and insects lying eggs that remain dormant through droughts, harboring life in the harshest conditions. And speaking of potholes, the Prairie Potholes region in the Dakotas provides homes to more than 50 percent of North America's waterfowl, driving ecosystems and economies.

Springs often provided the only reliable, year-round water source for hundreds of miles and acted as watering holes for wildlife and ranching alike. Many of these drove settlement, and lend their names to cities like Colorado Springs to this day.

You can read all about how EPA protects this critical resource that continues to shape the West at https://www.epa.gov/environmental-topics/water-topics