To help Tribal governments in Minnesota take on more projects aimed at improving environmental quality, the MPCA recently awarded three contractors a total of more than $1 million in technical assistance grants.
“This all came about after receiving input in Tribal consultations and in the process of updating the Climate Action Framework,” said Shannon Kesner, the MPCA’s director of Tribal affairs. “The Tribes told us that capacity barriers prevented them from applying for the funding that it would take to accomplish these projects.”
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The MPCA seeks contractors to provide technical support and assistance to Tribal governments for environmental and climate projects. Up to $1.5 million is available.
The goal of the technical assistance grant program, Kesner noted, is to connect Tribes with experienced professionals who can support the Tribes in securing funding for environmental and climate change-related projects by identifying new funding opportunities, writing grant applications for those opportunities, and managing those grants.
The scope of the work covered by these technical assistance grants is intentionally broad, Kesner said, and will allow Tribes in Minnesota to pursue everything from feasibility studies and management plans to environmental science and engineering.
The work these grant winners will do will come at no cost to Tribes in Minnesota. A total of $4 million in funding for Tribal technical assistance grants came from a one-time appropriation from the Minnesota Legislature in 2023.
The three contractors that the MPCA awarded the grant money to are:
- WSB, which has completed more than 100 different projects for Tribal entities across the United States and has seven offices in Minnesota
- KLJ Engineering in St. Louis Park, which has secured $236 million for Tribal economic development and infrastructure projects in the last 10 years
- HR&A Advisors in Minneapolis, which is supported by Native-owned Full Circle Indigenous Planning and Design
An additional $1.5 million Tribal technical assistance grant to support this work closes June 5.