Navajo Nation pushes for Utah weatherization program
TL/DR –
Navajo Nation Council Delegate Curtis Yanito asked for Utah’s Congressional delegation’s support for a $20 million Community Change Grant to help improve housing weatherization in the Utah Navajo Strip. The grant seeks to help establish a local workforce development program for home weatherization, train new technicians, and weatherize around 300 households in the Navajo Nation’s seven chapters in Utah. Residents in the Navajo Utah strip reportedly spend nearly triple the national average percentage of their household income on energy, with cost and a lack of available labor cited as the main obstacles to weatherization.
Navajo Nation Council Advocate for $20 Million EPA Grant for Housing Weatherization
Delegate Curtis Yanito of the Navajo Nation Council recently met with Utah Congressional delegation to advocate for a $20 million Community Change Grant for housing weatherization on the Utah Navajo Strip. This grant was submitted last November by the Navajo Utah Commission and Stewardship Utah to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The grant’s purpose is to establish a local workforce development program to train new technicians in home weatherization and to weatherize up to 300 households in seven Navajo Nation chapters represented by the Navajo Utah Commission. These include Aneth, Dennehotso, Mexican Water, Navajo Mountain, Oljato, Red Mesa, and Teec Nos Pos.
Delegate Yanito, during his meeting with Utah’s U.S. Senators and House members, emphasized the grant’s potential to create jobs and provide technical training. This support for businesses is crucial for the Navajo communities in Utah, where residents spend nearly three times the national average of household income on energy.
A community survey by Stewardship Utah revealed cost and lack of labor as significant barriers to home weatherization. Yanito was joined by Stewardship Utah representatives in these meetings, including offices from all six members of Utah’s Congressional delegation, the Western Caucus, and the Navajo Nation’s Washington Office.
Representative Mike Kennedy and other Utah congressional representatives urged the EPA to approve this grant by co-signing a letter. They emphasized the grant’s potential to promote economic empowerment, self-sufficiency, and responsible investment in rural communities. This grant, which directly benefits the Navajo Nation, was authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act passed by Congress in August 2022, with $300 million set aside for Native Sovereign Nations.
In support of the initiative, the Navajo Utah Commission passed a resolution citing its importance for residential energy efficiency upgrades in the Navajo Chapters in Utah. Delegate Yanito and Stewardship Utah expressed gratitude to the Congressional delegation, who displayed strong support for the grant. Stewardship Utah members, along with partners like Josh Craft of Utah Clean Energy and Andy Rasmussen of United Today Stronger Tomorrow in Utah, continue their efforts towards this initiative.
—
Read More US Economic News