Catalog of Environmental Programs 2012

Related EPA Program(s)

Categorical Grants: Multi-media Tribal Implementation:
Under Federal environmental statutes, EPA has the responsibility for protecting human health and the environment in Indian country with a special emphasis on building Tribal capacity to administer their own environmental programs. EPA has worked to establish the internal infrastructure and organize its activities in order to meet this responsibility such as the implementation of the Agencies Indian Policy.

The program is tailored to address an individual tribe’s most serious environmental needs through the implementation of Federal environmental programs. These grants build upon the environmental capacity developed under the Indian General Assistance Program (GAP) and include negotiated environmental plans, measures and results as agreed upon by tribes and EPA. GAP grants are essential to improving human and environmental health in Indian country, but given GAP’s current constraints on implementation, tribes can find it difficult to transition from establishing the foundation of an environmental program to the actual implementation of media specific programs. The MMTI program transitions a tribe into program implementation and ensures that EPA and Tribal environmental priorities are addressed to the fullest extent possible. This program advances the Administrator’s priority that EPA programs are consistently delivered nationwide. It also allows the Agency and tribes to have flexibility to direct resources to tribal program implementation activities that complement programs under established environmental statutes (i.e., CWA, CAA, RCRA, etc.) and specific programs (i.e., climate change) which are needed to address environmental problems faced by tribes.

Authorizing Legislation
• Annual Appropriations