Cherokee Nation Gets $437,000 EPA Grant

The Cherokee Nation is one of four Oklahoma tribes to receive grant funds from the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

The grant funds are to help monitor air quality on Oklahoma tribal lands.

The Cherokee Nation gets the lion's share of the funds - the tribe will receive $437,785 in funds, more than half of the $847,097 grants awarded.

Started in 1996, the Cherokee Nation Ambient Quality Monitoring Program has grown to be one of the largest tribal air quality programs in the nation.

The Cherokee Nation's program monitors air quality in Oklahoma areas where extra resources are not available.

The tribe's program monitor's ozone, mercury, ammonia and other air pollutants in areas including Tahlequah, Stilwell, Roland, Newkirk and Pryor.

The Cherokee Nation is also the lead technical agent for the Inter-Tribal Environmental Council, a group that consists of 42 tribes located in Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico.

The Council helps tribal members establish and operate air quality monitoring projects in their areas.

Other Oklahoma tribes that received grant money from the EPA are the Delaware, Choctaw and Quapaw tribes.

More information about the Cherokee Nation environmental program can be found at http://www.cherokee.org/Our Government/Commissions/EnvironmentalProtection.aspx.