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States and Tribes Activities
Region
8 includes the States of Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah,
Wyoming, and 27 Tribal Nations. Our States, Tribes and local agencies are taking
action to protect children from environmental hazards. Region 8 is working with
all these groups to help develop capacity in children's environmental health and
creating opportunities to share information and resources across agencies and
closely coordinate our activities in order to maximize our limited resources and
better serve the children in our Region.
State Children's Environmental Health
Montana
The State of Montana has created a CEH Network which includes the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the Office of Public Instruction (OPI), EPA Region 8 Montana Office, ATSDR, HUD, the University of Montana and Montana State University. This group has been meeting monthly since Dec 2003 to collaborate and communicate on CEH issues, leverage limited resources and promote CEH in MT through education, outreach and intervention. Some of the projects they have worked together on are a State wide outreach/education effort on West Nile Virus, a program to eliminate hazardous chemicals from schools, and, increasing awareness and education of CEH issues in day care centers and home day cares.
The Montana DEQ hosted the 2005 Regional CEH Summit which was organized jointly by US EPA Region 8 and Montana Office, US DHHS Region VIII (including ATSDR and ACF), the Rocky Mountain Region Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU), the Montana DEQ, and DPHSS.
MT DEQ and the CEH Network have also developed an excellent CEH Website with excellent links that provide access to information about environmental threats affecting the health of children at http://www.deq.state.mt.us/SBAP/CEH/childrenHlth.asp .
MT DPHHS Family and Community Health Bureau and the Childcare Licensing Bureau have developed, and began implementing the "Protect My Air" project. Daycare inspectors will, on a voluntary basis, provide assessment of indoor air in daycares and provide recommendations on making the air "healthier" when needed. The project was conceptualized in late 2003. The Daycare Licensing Section supervisor was a co-partner in this project; DEQ has provided some financial support, Montana's Public Health Tracking project has provided support and assistance, and the Montana Extension Service has helped with training of the inspectors. A checklist was developed, as well as the letter signed by the Directors of DPHHS and DEQ that will be given to the daycare providers at the time of the inspection.
Other on-going projects and upcoming activities:
- DEQ has on-going mercury collection system (collected over 300# so far)
- DEQ has grant to decrease school bus idling; pilot program in Helena
- DEQ intern is developing a P2 (pollution prevention information packet)
- DEQ is also working on a scaled-down version of EPA's Healthy SEAT program and will have a booth at the Teachers' Conference in October
- DEQ is working with a number of communities to set up electronics collections; hopes to make this an on-going collection at places like Staples, etc. Will be involving the local health departments
- The Rocky Boy Reservation has been given funds for school lab cleanups
- Women's Voices for the Earth (WVE) has begun a state-wide mercury workgroup; working with junk dealers, hospitals, advocacy groups, state, county, etc. to reduce mercury in the environment; possible legislation
- EJ (Environmental Justice) workshop, April 10 in Billings was very successful. Good attendance and discussion.
The 2004 CEH Summit was organized jointly by US EPA Region 8, US DHHS Region VIII, the Rocky Mountain Region PEHSU, the UT Departments of Environmental Quality, Health, Agriculture & Food, Human Services, the UT Association of Local Health Departments, UT Primary Children's Medical Center, University of Utah, Brigham Young University, and the UT School Nurses Association. UT DEQ was the lead Agency assisting with planning logistics.
UT Governor Olene Walker signed a Governor's Proclamation in 2004 declaring October as "Children's Environmental Health Month." They also encouraged all their Local Health Departments to conduct CEH activities in October in support of Children's Health Month and organized a Children's Health Fair immediately following the Summit.
UT DEQ has also created a Utah Network to advance Children's Environmental health issues and has developed an excellent web page: http://www.childrenshealth.utah.gov/
Salt Lake City School District offered to participate and was selected as a Healthy Schools Environment Assessment Tool (HSEAT) pilot test site.
The District's thoughtful and detailed suggestions and comments have been extremely valuable during the development and testing phase of this tool. SLCSD also hosted a HSEAT meeting at the end of March 06. The UT Department of Education, UT Department of Environmental Quality, UT Occupational Safety & Health, and the Salt Lake Valley Health Department are working together to help make this tool work for the District and for the State.
SLC School District is in the process of implementing the Integrated Pest Management Program throughout the Distirict. They will be the first School District in our Region to ever fully implement IPM in schools.
Tribal Children's Environmental Health
Tribal Lead-based Paint Hazard Elimination Plan Launched
The EPA Region 8 Lead Program developed the Tribal Lead-based Paint Hazard Elimination Plan in 2005. The plans mission is to "Protect Tribal children from lead exposure and poisoning." The goal of the plan is to eliminate lead-based paint hazards in target housing and child-occupied facilities located within Region 8 Tribes." While full implementation of the plan does not kick off until Spring 2006, one of the plans activities has already been completed. The Lead Program developed the EPA Region 8 Tribal Contact Information Database. The database maintains a comprehensive listing of tribal contacts. Included in the database are contacts for housing officials, environmental directors, and headstart directors, etc. The Lead Program is working vigorously to add academic institutions to the database. Criteria for admission include learning institutions that offer K-12 learning and can claim at least a 30% tribal attendance. The Lead Program has just completed adding information for SD and MT with a total of 156 school entries. The Lead Program estimates a listing of approximately 400 K-12 learning institutions by the time it completes all entries sometime in May.
Tribal Schools Initiative
Based on input from Tribes, EPA Region 8 is targeting schools in Indian Country for a multi-media effort to ensure protection of the tribal school's environment and protection of children's health. Developing an approach that is transferable to other Tribes and Schools, highlighting environmental and health issues, and building capacity are also anticipated benefits from this initiative. The multi-media effort includes Direct Implementation by EPA of its regulatory programs and technical assistance and information dissemination for its non-regulatory programs. Activities include pilot assessments at Tribal Schools by both the Office of Enforcement Compliance and Environmental Justice and Office of Partnerships and Regulatory Assistance, which includes dissemination of technical assistance information. The process will also include partnering with other agencies and organizations to leverage resources. The process is being re-evaluated and refined following the initial outreach to ensure the process is working and the appropriate level of participation and results are obtained for both the regulatory and non-regulatory programs and the Tribal Schools, Tribes and Children. The process will continue to be implemented in Tribal schools in subsequent years.
Tribal Effective Asthma Management (TEAM) Project
Tribal Effective Asthma Management Project (TEAM): collaboration between IHS and R8 Office of Radiation and Indoor Air that addresses pediatric asthma. Recent asthma prevalence studies have indicated that some Tribes within EPA Region VIII have an asthma prevalence rate that is up to 2.5 times higher than the national average. Additionally these studies have indicated a strong need for an effective and comprehensive approach to improve and expand the delivery of asthma management programs to the Tribes of Region VIII.
In response to these studies, the Radiation and Indoor Environment team of Region VIII has been collaborating with the Tribal Assistance Program and Indian Health Services as well as other sister agencies to design and implement the Tribal Effective Asthma Management (TEAM) Project. Unlike past programs, TEAM is designed to develop Tribal community capacity in assessing, understanding, and reducing exposure to environmental triggers of asthma.
The project also outlines goals that will achieve positive outcomes that improve the patient's quality of life and provide a culturally sensitive and coordinated delivery of asthma care. TEAM will use Tribal Community Health Representatives to ensure that the delivery of asthma care will be sensitive to singular Tribal needs. The use of Tribal CHR's will be instrumental in improving patient understanding of the disease process, learning to reduce exposure to environmental triggers, and thus increase patient compliance in following asthma management plans.
