EPA awards Nevada tribe $20 million for water, cooling center

Alan Halaly, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Dec 13, 2024

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LAS VEGAS — Access to clean water and renewable energy on Nevada’s tribal lands has not historically been a given.

With a $20 million Environmental Protection Agency grant, the Walker River Paiute Tribe in west-central Nevada, south of Fallon, is a step closer to strengthening its water delivery system and making homes on the reservation more energy efficient.

The grant awarded to the tribe and the Nevada Clean Energy Fund, part of the Community Change Grant program, was one of 84 announced on Thursday across the country, according to a news release.

“This Community Change Grant award will fill critical funding gaps and enable us to implement transformative energy and water infrastructure projects,” said Andrea Martinez, the tribal chairman who leads the Nevada Clean Energy Fund Tribal Advisory Board. “Our joint efforts with NCEF will drive tangible public health and environmental benefits for the wider Walker River Paiute community.”

About 1,200 tribal members live on the Walker River Reservation — a 325,000-square-acre parcel of land that includes parts of Mineral, Lyon and Churchill counties.

Aside from putting money toward the reservation’s water infrastructure, the funds will go toward energy-efficient upgrades to 150 homes and building a so-called “Community Resilience Hub” that will act as a cooling center during killer heat waves.

“This award highlights the importance of supporting our Tribal communities in accessing safe living and community spaces,” said Kirsten Stasio, CEO of the Nevada Clean Energy Fund. “This award is a big milestone for the Nevada Clean Energy Fund’s Tribal Clean Energy Program, which supports all of Nevada’s Tribes in implementing clean energy opportunities.”

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