Trump funding freeze threatens Walker Paiute water security

Yahoo

02-04-2025

Jeniffer SolisNevada Current
Reliable drinking water, new homes, and energy upgrades are now further out of reach for members of the Walker River Paiute Tribe after the Trump administration froze $20 million in federal funding awarded to the Tribe.
The Walker River Paiute Tribe was notified March 7 that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suspended — and may soon terminate — a contractually obligated $20 million Community Change Grant awarded in October.
Tribal leaders say the move will likely kill a critical water infrastructure project a decade in the making that would bring drinking water to more than 100 reservation homes and businesses currently rely on a dwindling well water supply. Without the funding, the construction of a planned energy project that would provide energy upgrades for 150 homes on the reservation and community resilience hub would also be eliminated.
Joseph Frank, project manager for Walker River Paiute Tribe, said the grant freeze was just the latest in a series of funding setbacks brought on by the Trump administration.
'With a lot of these cuts that have come down, we are definitely feeling strained,' Frank told the U.S. Economic Development Administration's Indigenous Economic Development Community of Practice last week.
Funds from the EPA grant were frozen for a week in January when the Nevada Clean Energy Fund — a nonprofit bank that administers the funds — lost access to the EPA's online grant management portal, before they were unfrozen, then frozen again this month.
'The uncertainty to the grant is the ever changing status, it becomes active, then suspended and this makes it impossible to continue with our projects,' said Walker River Paiute Tribe Chair Melanie McFalls in a press release Monday.
Termination of the EPA grant would 'definitely be a nail in the coffin, or, you know, one of many,' said Frank.
Between aging pipes, pollutants and regional drought, the Tribe's existing water infrastructure has been stretched to its limits — compromising both public health and economic development, said McFalls.
Before Trump took office, the Tribe had an ambitious plan to complete the project by May 2027, according to McFalls.
The 'Water Looping Project' secured about $8 million in funding from several other federal agencies — including the Economic Development Administration, Bureau of Reclamation, and Indian Health Services — and about $2.5 million in state matching funds. But without the EPA grant, the Tribe will not be able to fully complete the project.
Kirsten Stasio, CEO of the Nevada Clean Energy Fund, said the Walker River Paiute Tribe has only used about $70,000 of the $20 million EPA grant, but has 'already made significant investments in the engineering and design' of the project.
Stasio said the EPA has offered no explanation for why the funds were frozen on March 7, and whether they will be reinstated: 'We're not getting a lot of information from the EPA or communication.'
Funding for water infrastructure would allow the Walker River Paiute Tribe to build more homes and businesses on the reservation. Frank, the project manager for the tribe, said there is a strong demand for homes on the reservation, but without the right infrastructure they can't be built.
'That project is definitely a cornerstone for the community, because if we don't get that done, we're not going to be able to build more homes,' Frank said. 'We definitely do not have enough housing, and we cannot add more houses into the structures that we have currently, because the system is already being taxed as it is.'
Lack of adequate water infrastructure on the reservation also means much of the reservation lacks the water pressure needed for fire hydrants, putting homes on the reservation at severe risk of fire damage. A study by the Department of the Interior found that existing water storage capacity on the reservation falls short of meeting current codes for fire suppression.
Additionally, insurance companies will not insure buildings without proper water infrastructure which hinders housing and commercial development.
'A lot of insurance companies will not come to the reservation because the fire department does not have the capability' to sustain the water pressure needed to fight fires, Frank said.
'They require you to be able to run so much water, gallonage per minute, per hour,' Frank said. 'We don't have the capacity in our infrastructure to run that at this time.'
Funding from the EPA Community Change Grant would also allow the Tribe to fund a community solar project that would provide energy upgrades for 150 homes on the Walker River reservation.
'Because we live in a more rural area, electricity out here fluctuates. Some days we may have electricity. Other times it's the power bumps that really raise Cain with the system,' Frank said.
Funding from the frozen EPA grant was also earmarked to fund the construction of a new nutritional wellness building on the Walker River reservation, that would serve as a community resilience hub during heat waves and other natural disasters.
Tribal leaders said the cascade of federal funding cuts from the Trump administration this month has already impacted the Tribe's current food pantry, which serves tribal and nontribal customers alike. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture axed the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program that provided three tribes in Nevada with more than $1 million in fresh produce and meats from local farmers and ranchers.
Stasio, the CEO of the Nevada Clean Energy Fund, said she fears the EPA grant for the Walker River Paiute Tribe has been caught up in a sweep of anti-DEI — diversity, equity and inclusion — efforts at the federal level, despite the grant's focus on vital infrastructure.
Funding for the EPA Community Change Grant was provided through the Environmental and Climate Justice Program, a $2.8 billion financial assistance program created by the Inflation Reduction Act. EPA Administrator Zeldin cancelled grants and contracts related to DEI and environmental justice in his first round of spending cuts.
'This is just investing in critical infrastructure in our community, in our Tribal communities. It's attracting much needed investment, jobs, and economic development in that region,' Stasio said.
The federal government is required by law to uphold its trust responsibility to tribes — a legal obligation under which the United States must protect tribal sovereignty and provide basic social services for tribal nations.
'Tribes are sovereign nations. It's not about DEI or environmental justice,' Stasio continued.
More than 400 EPA grants were terminated by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin this month, with the assistance of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
'As with any change in Administration, the agency is reviewing its grant funding to ensure it is appropriate use of taxpayer dollars and to understand how those programs align with Administration priorities,' an EPA spokesperson said in response to questions about why the contractually obligated funding was cut.