January—February 2022 Newsletter

A New Regional Administrator

Martha Guzman was sworn in as Regional Administrator for the EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region in December 2021. In this role she is leading EPA efforts to protect public health and the environment for the region spanning Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, the U.S. Pacific Islands territories, and 148 Tribal Nations. Guzman’s focus is on advancing President Biden’s priorities in the areas of climate change, environmental justice, and scientific integrity, and more broadly achieving progress in making the air, land, and water cleaner and safer for communities across the Pacific Southwest.

• About the Regional Administrator for EPA's Region 9 Office in San Francisco

Responding to a Drinking Water Emergency

In late November, 2021, hundreds of families living on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and the Army's Aliamanu Military Reservation and Red Hill Housing reported petroleum odors coming from residential tap water supplied by the U.S. Navy water system. Approximately 93,000 U.S. Navy water system users are impacted. The source of the petroleum was the nearby Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility, which contaminated the Red Hill Well, the Navy's primary source for its water system. Among other efforts, EPA is partnering with the Navy, Army and the Hawaii Department of Health in an Interagency Drinking Water System Team which is working on multiple fronts to restore safe drinking water to the affected residents and workers.

• Hawai'i Public Radio: Top EPA official visits Hawaiʻi to oversee Navy flushing process and ensure accurate water sampling
• Statement by Regional Administrator on the Emergency
• Twitter Video: Administrator Michael Regan and Regional Administrator Martha Guzman Speaking about the Drinking Water Emergency in Hawaii
• The Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility in Hawaii

Job Training for Underserved Communities

EPA is funding the Hunters Point Family in San Francisco, the City of Richmond, Calif., and the City of Pittsburg, Calif., with $200,000 job training grants; EPA is also supporting a job training program in Arizona for residents living near the ASARCO Superfund site. The grants provide job opportunities in the construction, environmental cleanup, and renewable energy fields. Graduates of the Superfund program in Hayden, Arizona, are already reaping the benefits of their newly acquired job skills.

• The Richmond Standard: RichmondBUILD awarded $200K job training grant from EPA
• EPA News Release: EPA Initiative Provides Skills, Employment Opportunities to Arizona Residents Near Mine Cleanup Site
• EPA News Release: EPA Selects Three Bay Area Organizations for Environmental Job Training Grants