BARAGA, MI (AP)-- An Upper Peninsula-based Native American tribe has received a federal grant to modernize its environmental data reporting system.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently awarded $195,000 to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community in Baraga.
Regional administrator Kathy Stepp says the funding will enable the tribe to join an online data exchange network.
The network is used by the EPA, state, tribal and territorial partners to share environmental and health information. Officials say it will provide the tribe with better access to a number of data systems including a nationwide inventory of toxic releases.
Tribal President Warren Swartz Jr. says it will help the tribe make well-informed decisions, while boosting openness and public participation.
The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community expects the project to be operational in spring 2020.
