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EPA Invests in Making America Healthy Again with Announcement of $1.6 Million to Improve Drinking Water in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming

June 26, 2026

Contact Information: Region 8 News (Region8Media@epa.gov)

DENVER – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing $1.6 million in grant funding to improve drinking water infrastructure in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. These grants will help Make America Healthy Again by providing communities with needed resources to make critical drinking water infrastructure upgrades, combat Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), remove sources of lead, and address specific local drinking water challenges.

“Reliable access to clean, safe drinking water is essential for American communities to thrive and a top priority for the Trump EPA,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water, Jess Kramer. “Clean Air, Land, and Water for Every American is Pillar 1 of Administrator Zeldin’s ‘Powering the Great American Comeback’ Initiative. Small and rural water systems often face disproportionate challenges when it comes to drinking water, and these grants will help them access needed resources to make important water infrastructure investments that will protect Americans from the dangers of PFAS and other harmful contaminants.”

“EPA is committed to advancing safe, reliable drinking water across the country,” said EPA Region 8 Administrator Cyrus Western. “Through strong state partnerships, this funding will help communities across the region improve their water systems, access resources to meet their unique challenges, and deliver the clean, reliable water families depend on.”

Approximately $25 million is available nationwide through the Small, Rural, and Tribal (SmaRT) Drinking Water Assistance Program. This grant program was established under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act to help water systems provide clean, safe drinking water. The funding is available to states and territories, who are responsible for administering the grant funds and ensuring that the funds efficiently and effectively reach communities that need assistance with local water infrastructure upgrades or Safe Drinking Water Act compliance.

FY 26 Allocation

• Colorado: $432,000
• Montana: $297,000
• North Dakota: $205,000
• South Dakota: $221,000
• Utah: $280,000
• Wyoming: $235,000

More information on this grant program and this year’s allotments can be found on the SmaRT website. Tribal allotments for this program will be released separately.

Background:

The Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act establishes the SmaRT grant program – formerly known as Small, Underserved, and Disadvantaged Communities (SUDC) – to award funding to states, territories, and tribes to assist public water systems in meeting Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requirements.

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Image by Chelsea Campbell for Yellow Scene Magazine

Month in Review

A month of openings – gyms, bars, strip clubs, restaurants – even at half capacity was cut off. Governor Polis announced a re-closing of bars and clubs to stem the current rise in COVID-19 cases across Colorado. This last week saw us return to nearly our peak infection rate. Boulder County – looking at Boulder, Longmont, Lafayette, Louisville, Superior, and Erie – has seen 143 new cases since June 23rd, as of July 2nd. • Local elections have concluded, although results aren’t all official. For local races we were watching, we saw Dan Woog handily making state house, Callie Rennison easily knocking off her competition for CU Regent, and Longmont Strong Marta Loachamin narrowly edging Jonathan Singer for Boulder County Commissioner District 2. She’ll face James Crowder in November. • Boulder County Parks has issued a statement on COVID rules, reminding revelers to follow the social distancing and mask requirements or be asked to leave. This includes Boulder County Open Space. • The Aurora PD faced intense scrutiny as Justice for Elijah McClain protests were poorly handled. In addition to using chemical weapons, pepper balls (as witnessed by Yellow Scene staff), and threatening people with rubber bullets at an unsafe distance, 3 officers were fired for reenacting the carotid chokehold that resulted in the unnecessary death of McClain. • The Fourth of July Independence Day celebrations were stifled by order of the Governor, necessary to prevent mass gatherings. In its place, Kyle Clark reported that he’d never seen anything like this”, in terms of citizen use of fireworks across the city. From our offices in Erie we can report the same. These celebrations capped off 24 hours of Elijah McClain protests at APD headquarters and a divisive speech by the President at Mt. Rushmore, where Native Americans on their own legal land were arrested for attempting to deny Trump access. • The “I Have A Dream” Foundation hired a new CEO. The Daily Camera reports that Perla Delgado, most recently the College Assistance Migrant Program director in Austin, TX, wants to continue to support Dreamers on their way to college.  The migrant program provides students and their families a pathway out of poverty through education. •  Nearly 400 people participated in Out Boulder County’s first motorcade parade. An alternative to the traditional parade due to the Coronavirus, 150 cars participated in cruising down Main street in Longmont. Mardi Moore, Out BC’s Executive Director is quoted as saying, “We finally have a place in the law that recognizes sexual orientation and gender identity as equal in employment, which, as far-fetched as that seems, we have never had before. We think this has legs, but we also think it will be a long time before we have full equal rights,” referencing the SCOTUS decision affirming LGBT workplace protections.

Small Talk

“We have received countless messages over the past few days from officers in Colorado. Many have asked for resources finding police jobs out of Colorado – many others have said they plan on leaving the field altogether.”

– Law Enforcement Today, on the CO Police exodus following the passing of SB 217

“The governor said that the state’s rise in coronavirus cases has mostly been among younger people.”

– Colorado Sun reporting, with the caveat that bars, clubs, and possible protests were the main culprits

“I am no longer affiliated with the University of Colorado.”

– Philip Graves, former CU Boulder Economic professor, after the fallout from racist and secist messages posted to Facebook

“Everyone should feel welcome and safe when recreating on open space, especially our most vulnerable residents. It’s such an important resource for mental and physical health in these challenging times.”

– Eric Lane, Director of Boulder County Parks and Open Space

“I know the media has a job to do. They chose to be in that situation with us.”

– Vanessa Wilson, Interim Police Chief, Aurora Police Department, when asked why journalists were targeted and hit

By the Numbers

148 – New Cases of Coronavirus in Boulder County since June 23, counting totals reported by the Daily Camera.

72/1246 – Deaths per COVID-19 cases in Boulder County since the pandemic began. Recent new cases are a sharp increase

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21% – increase in voter turnout comparing the 2020 primary to last year

150 – fabulously filled CARS  in the Out Boulder County LGBT Motorcade parade

3 – The Number of Colorado reservoirs we visited for our travel article, though we definitely thought of visiting more.

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I can’t properly explain to you what it is to be at Standing Rock; not as an activist or as an Indigenous man. While I’ve written recently on the need for you and your privilege to be there, it wasn’t until my loveliest, Evita, remarked that I could talk about my sense response to being there, rather than try to find a millionth angle, which has probably already been covered.

I went to Cannonball, North Dakota, for almost a week through the Thanksgiving holiday, and the plain truth is this: Standing Rock overwhelmed me. I have never in my life been involved in any Native protest spaces, in spite of my long history of involvement in activism. I mentioned to a friend while there that I had never participated in anything like this, that I was feeling overwhelmed by the energy of it all, by the impact of Standing Rock on my own life, on my own genocided blood lines, on Native culture…and I didn’t know how to deal with it. I simply experienced it.

The sounds of the camp were glorious: a constant stream of war cries and songs, drums beating in rhythm with my heart, horses galloping across vast fields with young natives clinging to manes. I came to know the voices that echoed in the morning, calling us to action, warning of raids. I came to know the voice of the announcers at the Sacred Fire, joking about DAPLonia and the camp baby boom, announcing rides, calling out the names of the dancers, singers, and drum groups.

I smelt of smoke and charcoal when I arrived home, my room filled with the remnant scent of burnt cedar, sage, and earth. I remember breathing in the dust after the riders passed, the freezing cold air stinging at my nostrils as I rushed from rest to action, my lungs working to adapt to the climate; the smell of cold storage when we dropped off supplies at the kitchens, the coffee we brewed non-stop, the scent of hope in the exhalations of those we embraced.

The taste of the coffee grinds that overflowed our camping pot remains, like the taste of stew and posole. I tasted the chicken and corn, the tobacco passed to me asan offering. I tasted of a vision of a future I truly believe in, of camaraderie and justice and hope, of an earth loved and loving.

I felt the cold. I felt it deep such that sleep for the first two days eluded me, till I was given a -20 sleeping bag and dreamed so deeply that visions came. I felt hands as old and rugged as the earth herself, and deep hugs. I felt the whip of the winds like the whip of the horse, and I felt pride in my people and our allies. I felt at home, empowered, loved, and, simultaneously, terrified for the future…

…Because I saw hate, atop hills wrapped in razor wire, gripping shotguns and sniper rifles, pepper spray and batons, with flood lights drenching every inch of our time there with suspicion and violent aims. I saw police wrapped head to toe in oily blue and black, their faces shielded from view, their armored vehicles and prison transports always there to tempt our fears.

And yet none of that frightened us. I saw the most serious and powerful acts of individual human strength, of group solidarity, of passion in defense of right. I watched as young people rode a handmade bridge hoisted above our heads and rode it out into the water, surfing it to the far side, to temporarily claim back land currently held ransom by oil company billions and pliant police state agents. I saw the horses stomp into the earth carrying warrior women and watched as ancient-faced elders danced and sang songs older than time.

I once mockingly wrote of the Malheur Refuge standoff and the subsequent non-charges, void of an experience at Standing Rock. I know now it’s much deeper than one group’s allowance and another’s disallowance. It’s about a genocidal for-profit rampage against the earth and anyone, particularly non-white bodies, who oppose it.

If you can see, see that. It’s not over. Even if cities are divesting from banks over DAPL. Energy Transfer Partners is trying to wait for Trump to oust us and our people still stand.

Come from all Four Directions: Bring your Five Senses. And Stand.

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