HUD AWARDS ALMOST $500,000 TO COLVILLE INDIAN HOUSING AUTHORITY TO PREVENT & REMEDIATE MOLD ISSUES IN ITS HOUSING STOCK
Part of awards nationwide of $12.4 million awarded to 18 tribal communities in 12 states

SEATTLE - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced the award of $486,827 to the Colville Indian Housing Authority in Nespelem, Washington to support mold remediation in housing owned or operated by the Authority.

Lourdes Castro Ramirez, HUD Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing, presented a ceremonial check marking the award today in Seattle to Brook Kristovich, the Colville Tribal Housing Authority's executive director.

The Colville Indian Housing Authority is one of 18 Tribal communities in 13 states awarded $12.4 million for mold remediation and prevention today. This is the largest amount to date awarded by HUD for this purpose. The funding is made available through HUD's Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) program, which addresses a wide variety of community development and affordable housing activities. (See chart below for list of winners.)

The Colville Indian Housing Authority will uses its $486,827 grant to comprehensively resolve moisture and prevent future mold exposure by improving ventilation and adding a vapor barriers in 180 homes serving 487 low and moderate income residents at an average cost of $2,705 per home. The project will feature moisture-sensing fans that increase air movement when 50 percent humidity is detected. The fans are extremely quiet and cannot be decommissioned by residents which will help insure healthy homes by eliminating and preventing mold caused by ineffective fans. In addition the project will create up to three additional full time jobs for area residents.

"Every family in America deserves a safe and healthy place to call home," said HUD Secretary Julián Castro. "These mold remediation grants demonstrate HUD's commitment to partnering with Native American communities to improve tribal housing and create healthy communities where families can thrive."

All the grantees will address the source of moisture entering their homes by using construction materials and techniques known to resist mold, and ensuring that staff or contractors use safe practices for identifying and remediating mold. They will also educate residents of the units on ways to prevent mold from reoccurring in the future. The awards' source of grant funding was first used in Fiscal Year 2014 through a set-aside to remediate and prevent mold in housing units owned or operated by tribes and TDHEs. Last year nine tribes received grants to remove unhealthy levels of mold, including the Havasupai Tribe in Arizona where mold is a common problem due in part to frequent flooding in low-lying areas of the Grand Canyon.

Established in 1977, HUD's ICDBG program assists Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages to meet their community development needs. Federally recognized Indian tribes, bands, groups or nations (including Alaska Indian, Aleuts and Eskimos,) Alaska Native villages, and eligible tribal organizations compete for this funding. A second more general round of ICDBG funding will be announced later this year.

HUD administers six programs that are specifically targeted to American Indian, Alaska Native, or native Hawaiian individuals and families, and federally recognized tribal governments. In Fiscal Year 2015 HUD received approximately $732 million to fund programs to support housing and development initiatives in American Indian, Alaska Native, and native Hawaiian communities. Through innovative programming, American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments have created sustainable and community-driven solutions to their housing and community development challenges.

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