The Chilkoot Indian Association received a $1.4 million dollar grant for building an electric vehicle charging station. The station is intended for public use and construction is expected to begin this spring.

The Chilkoot Indian Association will be getting an electric vehicle charging station.

Part of Tribal Administrator Harriet Brouillette’s job is to keep an eye out for opportunities for the tribe. She comes across a lot of grant opportunities, but many are too large in scope to be feasible. When she saw the Biden-Harris Administration offering grants through the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Program, she had a project that she thought would be a good fit.

Brouillette: “Some of the grants that we look at are for millions of millions of dollars and they are far out of reach. But this one was small enough that it looked like it was something that was small enough that a small tribe could qualify for and could handle.”

Brouillette applied and received news this week that her project was awarded $1.4 million dollars. The exact location of the charging station hasn’t been chosen. But it will include not only an EV station, but also a grass park with an area for growing vegetables, a small totem park, and a food security program.

Brouillete says the Environmental Protection Agency is changing policy to phase out fossil fuel-burning vehicles over the next 25 years. She says that the timing is right to create infrastructure for charging vehicles as the tribal fleet becomes electric. She says they’re choosing to be ahead of the curve, not behind it.

Brouillette: “It’s pretty exciting. I think it’s exciting for the tribe and it’s exciting for the community. Positive changes are definitely coming our way.”

Details for the project will be hashed out over the next few weeks. Construction is expected to begin this spring.