News Release
Indian Health Service
Yesterday, the Indian Health Service announced allocation decisions for $700 million appropriated to the Indian Health Service in President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which appropriates $700 million in each fiscal year from FY 2022 through FY 2026, for a total of $3.5 billion for the Indian Health Service Sanitation Facilities Construction Program.
“President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is rebuilding roads, expanding access to clean water, promoting environmental justice and investing in communities that have been left behind for too long,” said Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. “We are one step closer to addressing sanitation deficiencies in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Improving access to safe water and waste water disposal will improve health outcomes for American Indians and Alaska Natives. This historic infrastructure investment is in response to the longstanding recommendations of tribal leaders shared in consultation with the Department of Health and Human Services and Indian Health Service.”
“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure and competitiveness,” said Indian Health Service Acting Director Elizabeth Fowler. “This funding will support crucial sanitation projects that will result in substantial improvements to clean water and sanitation systems in American Indian and Alaska Native communities across the country.”
The funding announced today will provide 71,000 American Indian and Alaska Native homes with critical services like water wells and onsite wastewater disposal systems and connections to community water supply and wastewater disposal systems. Improvements to sanitation facilities can reduce inpatient and outpatient visits related to respiratory, skin and soft tissue, and gastroenteric disease. Every $1 spent on water and sewer infrastructure can save $1.23 in avoided direct healthcare costs.
The Indian Health Service will allocate approximately $581 million for its Tier 1 project construction costs. When combined with FY 2022 annual appropriations, these resources will support 475 Tier 1 projects – PDF. A Tier 1 project is considered ready to fund because planning is complete. The Indian Health Service will also allocate $60 million for design and construction document creation activities related to these Tier 1 projects, which include engineering design activities for proposed sanitation facilities, contract documents, and contract plans and specifications.
Tier 2 projects have a level of their engineering assessment complete and have a well understood deficiency and a recommended solution while Tier 3 projects have deficiencies identified but are still in the planning phase, which may include identifying solutions. The Indian Health Service will allocate approximately $33 million for the planning, design, and construction contract document creation for Tier 2 and Tier 3 projects. The Indian Health Service will also use FY 2022 annual appropriations to support additional planning, design, and construction document creation activities for Tier 2 and Tier 3 projects. The Sanitary Deficiency System — or SDS — currently includes 661 Tier 2 projects, totaling approximately $2.2 billion, and 361 Tier 3 projects, totaling approximately $505 million.
Lastly, the allocation includes $21 million for salaries, expenses and administrative costs, $3.5 million for the Office of the Inspector General to oversee Indian Health Service’s implementation of these resources, and $1.5 million for special projects, such as studies, training or other needs related to sanitation facilities construction.
These allocation decisions align with recommendations from tribal leaders to prioritize funding for projects that have completed the planning phase and can be immediately placed into the design and construction phase, and to provide sufficient funding for planning and design activities to get projects ready to fund.
Visit the Indian Health Service Division of Sanitation Facilities Construction website for a breakout of projects and costs – PDF by Indian Health Service Area as of December 31, 2021.
The Indian Health Service, an agency in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, provides a comprehensive health service delivery system for approximately 2.7 million American Indians and Alaska Natives who belong to 574 federally recognized tribes in 37 states. Follow the agency via social media on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
