b'EnvironmentalPersonal Protective Equipment Distribution In May, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention re-leased new data showing the virus that causes COVID-19 had been found in wastewater samples, which created a large demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) for wastewater operators and water operators that work with untreated water. A Bank of America grant enabled RCAC to procure several hundred PPE items in the highly competitive market. In some cases, small businesses from RCACs service area stepped up to fulfill orders. A small business in rural Colorado called Kadys Kollars, which transitioned fromTribal Circuit riders deliver making dog collars to double layer cloth masks, provided 200 masks. A California nonprofit owner provided facemask shipments across the West shields made from recycled material. RCAC staff ordered protective suits, masks, face shields and gloves that wereAs the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) shipped to RCAC headquarters, where a single staff mem- and other agencies developed plans to address the ber assembled them into nearly 200 PPE kits and shippedCOVID-19 pandemic, RCAC joined a major endeavor to them out. distribute hundreds of thousands of cloth face masks to RCAC prioritized regions with high COVID-19 rates, andwater and wastewater operators in Arizona, California communities that already lacked access to piped water.and Nevada. RCAC Tribal Circuit Riders were uniquely These regions included the Navajo Nation, rural Wash- suited to help with this effort. Located in California,ington, and rural California. RCAC trainers also providedArizona, Nevada and Hawaii, their work occurs primarily extensive online training on proper PPE use and care. in the field, using a circuit rider approach to deliveronsite technical assistance/training visits to individual Tribal communities. More than 25,000 face masks were As larger utilities rushed to claim face masks, RCAC offered to pick up shipments from distribution centers delivered as part of the overall and deliver them to Tribes and other rural communities. FEMA/EPA/RCAC distribution to utilitiesRCAC Tribal circuit riders delivered more than 5,500 masks to communities in California alone; and a few thousand more in Alaska, Arizona and Nevada, where similar efforts were underway.8 | RCAC Annual Report'