Making a Visible Difference in Communities: Arizona
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Phoenix, AZ
Gila River Indian Country
EPA partnered with the Gila River Indian Community (GRIC) to further the tribe’s sustainability goals around:
- buildings and housing
- energy
- cleaner transportation
- sustainable materials management
Located near Phoenix, Arizona, the tribe’s land base of 372,000 acres is substantial. Land uses include government offices, economic development (hotels, casinos, industrial park, agriculture), and open space.
As Phoenix continues to expand, GRIC expects to face increasing pressures on development, housing, and transportation. EPA provided technical assistance to:
- develop and adopt green building codes with an emphasis on water/energy efficiency and rooftop solar applications
- assess current material recycling and waste diversion rates to identify opportunities to increase recycling rates and new recycling streams on the reservation
- conduct a technical assistance workshop on the impacts of diesel emissions from various industrial sectors on and around GRIC. The technical assistance informed participants of the threats to human health caused by diesel particulates and outlined strategies for reducing diesel emissions within fleets and equipment.