Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians celebrates new state

REDWOOD VALLEY – On Wednesday, the Tribal Council of the Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for the tribe's new state-of-the-art wastewater treatment facility. The ceremony was scheduled for 9 a.m. on the reservation.

The wastewater treatment facility project includes a membrane bioreactor ("MBR"), sewer connections into the facility, solids removal out of the facility, equalization tanks, a recycled water system, and recycled water storage tanks.

It will allow the tribe to operate a "purple pipe" recycled water system for irrigation, toilets, and back-up fire water, the tribe stated in a news release announcing the ceremony. In addition to its many other benefits, the facility is a win for the tribe because it will decrease the amount of water going into the existing leachfields, extending their useful life, and creating redundancy.

The tribe's chairman, Michael Hunter, commented that, "the facility ensures the health and safety of our community and makes the tribe more self-sufficient. I am particularly proud that it addresses the desperate drought situation in the area. The capacity that this facility creates for us will allow Coyote Valley to continue to develop without jeopardizing our resources."

The project was funded through grants from the Indian Health Service, HUD's Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act ("NAHASDA") and Indian Community Development Block Grants ("ICDBG") programs, the American Recovery and Protection Act ("ARPA"), and the CARES Act. The New Market Tax Credit program of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund of the U.S. Department of Treasury was also used.

The project was built by Wahlund Construction out of Eureka and is part of the Tribal Council's multi-year multi-phase tribal infrastructure improvement plan that has included reservation-wide improvements to the underground sewer, a new water system, new paving and beautification. The tribe plans to continue to improve its infrastructure over the coming years.

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