SEATTLE (AP) — Tens of millions of dollars raised by a landmark climate law in Washington state will go to Native American tribes that are at risk from climate change and rising sea levels to help them move to higher ground, install solar panels, buy electric vehicles and restore wetlands, Gov. Jay Inslee announced Tuesday.
The money — $52 million — comes from the 2021 Climate Commitment Act, which auctions off allowances for heavily polluting companies to emit carbon, with the revenue invested in education, transportation and other programs. Conservative critics who blame it for increased gas prices are seeking to repeal the law in November.
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FILE - Marco Black Jr., 11, who lives near a seawall with his family feet away from the Pacific Ocean, watches his shot go through the basket as a neighborhood dog stands nearby, Wednesday, May 15, 2024, on the Quinault reservation in Taholah, Wash. Gov. Jay Inslee announced Tuesday, July 16, that Washington has awarded $52 million raised by the state's landmark carbon emission pricing law to help Native American tribes respond to climate change. Among the tribes that will benefit is the Quinault Nation on the Pacific coast, which is getting $13 million to help move its two villages to higher ground as seas rise. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
SEATTLE (AP) — Tens of millions of dollars raised by a landmark climate law in Washington state will go to Native American tribes that are at risk from climate change and rising sea levels to help them move to higher ground, install solar panels, buy electric vehicles and restore wetlands, Gov. Jay Inslee announced Tuesday.
FILE - Sonny Curley hands a cup of coffee to his father Harold Curley at their home near the ocean Wednesday, May 22, 2024, on the Quinault reservation in Taholah, Wash. The home has a rotting deck and black mold inside, and the family has had to evacuate several times due to flooding. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
FILE - Jade Rodriguez's dog eyes a blueback, or Quinault sockeye salmon, before Rodriguez brings it to Quinault Pride Seafood to sell, Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in Taholah, Wash. The tribe relies on the fish for everything from food to jobs to cultural traditions. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
FILE - A fisherman kicks up spray while shaking out a net on the Quinault River, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in Taholah, Wash. The tribe, which relies on salmon fishing for food, jobs and maintaining cultural traditions, has been facing salmon declines due to rising temperatures and glacier melt. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
FILE - Marco Black Jr., 11, who lives near a seawall with his family feet away from the Pacific Ocean, watches his shot go through the basket as a neighborhood dog stands nearby, Wednesday, May 15, 2024, on the Quinault reservation in Taholah, Wash. Gov. Jay Inslee announced Tuesday, July 16, that Washington has awarded $52 million raised by the state's landmark carbon emission pricing law to help Native American tribes respond to climate change. Among the tribes that will benefit is the Quinault Nation on the Pacific coast, which is getting $13 million to help move its two villages to higher ground as seas rise. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
FILE - Pelicans fly near the shore as waves from the Pacific Ocean roll in Tuesday, May 14, 2024, on the Quinault reservation in Taholah, Wash. Gov. Jay Inslee announced on Tuesday, July 16, that Washington has awarded $52 million raised by the state's landmark carbon emission pricing law to help Native American tribes respond to climate change. Among the tribes that will benefit is the Quinault Nation on the Pacific coast, which is getting $13 million to help move its two villages to higher ground as seas rise. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
FILE - Sonny Curley looks out to the seawall separating his property from the Pacific Ocean at the home he shares with his children and parents Wednesday, May 22, 2024, on the Quinault reservation in Taholah, Wash. Gov. Jay Inslee announced on Tuesday, July 16, that Washington has awarded $52 million raised by the state's landmark carbon emission pricing law to help Native American tribes respond to climate change. Among the tribes that will benefit is the Quinault Nation on the Pacific coast, which is getting $13 million to help move its two villages to higher ground as seas rise. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
Nearly every Native American tribe in Washington is receiving money. Among them is the 3,000-member Quinault Indian Nation on the Pacific coast of the Olympic Peninsula, which is getting $13 million to help relocate its two main villages to higher ground, away from the tsunami zone and persistent flooding. Part of one of the villages is below sea level, separated from the roaring ocean by a seawall, and high tides and storm surges have flooded homes and government buildings.
“The Quinault is a perfect example of two things: people who are threatened by climate change, and people who are willing to do something about it and are confident in our ability to do something about it,” Inslee said. “So when I think about what you’re doing, it’s very inspirational to me.”
The tribe has spent at least a decade on the relocation effort, but so far a patchwork of federal and state grants has fallen far short of the expected cost.
The money will help fund a new building to house child and elder services, an emergency shelter and a new water tank and pump house on high ground to serve residents, government buildings and a relocated public school. It will also help pay for the development of a master plan and architectural drawings for a new museum and cultural center.
“We are incredibly grateful for this funding allowing us to take a big step forward in our mission to get our people, our homes and our critical infrastructure out of harm’s way,” Quinault President Guy Capoeman said in a statement issued by the state Commerce Department. “It will allow us to serve our elders and children, our most precious resource, in a safe space while providing an emergency shelter and operations base when we need to respond to inevitable flooding and other natural disasters that are part of life on the coast.”
Inslee, a Democrat who is in his third and final term as governor, has frequently touted the Climate Commitment Act. Washington is in the process of connecting its carbon market with California and Quebec, which also have emission allowance auctions, but the law faces a ballot-box challenge in Initiative 2117, backed by conservative hedge fund executive Brian Heywood.
Inslee joined Capoeman and Commerce Director Mike Fong for a news conference Tuesday in Taholah, one of the Quinault villages being relocated, to announce the grants.
Twenty-eight federally recognized tribes in Washington, plus four others that are based elsewhere but have land in the state, are receiving at least $750,000 each.
The Legislature made the $52 million available in the 2023-25 budget, and the Commerce Department worked with the tribes to figure out how they wanted to use the money.
For the Skokomish Tribe north of Olympia, it's $2 million to weatherize homes. For the Makah Tribe on the northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula, it's $620,000 to install solar panels and battery backup at a community warming center, and $750,000 for new wells that will help respond to drought by providing more access to drinking water.
The Lummi Nation in northwestern Washington will use some of its money to restore salmon in the Nooksack River, and the Spokane Tribe in eastern Washington is looking to improve energy efficiency.
The Shoalwater Bay Tribe, on a small peninsula at the mouth of a harbor on the Pacific coast, was also awarded funding to help plan a relocation to higher ground, about $2.8 million.
FILE - Jade Rodriguez, left, drives his boat as he checks on his fishing nets with cousin Sonny Curley, Wednesday, May 22, 2024, on the Quinault reservation in Taholah, Wash. Due to salmon decline as a result of glacier melt and rising river temperatures, Curley has made less money from fishing. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
FILE - Sonny Curley hands a cup of coffee to his father Harold Curley at their home near the ocean Wednesday, May 22, 2024, on the Quinault reservation in Taholah, Wash. The home has a rotting deck and black mold inside, and the family has had to evacuate several times due to flooding. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
FILE - Jade Rodriguez's dog eyes a blueback, or Quinault sockeye salmon, before Rodriguez brings it to Quinault Pride Seafood to sell, Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in Taholah, Wash. The tribe relies on the fish for everything from food to jobs to cultural traditions. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
FILE - A fisherman kicks up spray while shaking out a net on the Quinault River, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in Taholah, Wash. The tribe, which relies on salmon fishing for food, jobs and maintaining cultural traditions, has been facing salmon declines due to rising temperatures and glacier melt. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
FILE - Marco Black Jr., 11, who lives near a seawall with his family feet away from the Pacific Ocean, watches his shot go through the basket as a neighborhood dog stands nearby, Wednesday, May 15, 2024, on the Quinault reservation in Taholah, Wash. Gov. Jay Inslee announced Tuesday, July 16, that Washington has awarded $52 million raised by the state's landmark carbon emission pricing law to help Native American tribes respond to climate change. Among the tribes that will benefit is the Quinault Nation on the Pacific coast, which is getting $13 million to help move its two villages to higher ground as seas rise. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
FILE - Pelicans fly near the shore as waves from the Pacific Ocean roll in Tuesday, May 14, 2024, on the Quinault reservation in Taholah, Wash. Gov. Jay Inslee announced on Tuesday, July 16, that Washington has awarded $52 million raised by the state's landmark carbon emission pricing law to help Native American tribes respond to climate change. Among the tribes that will benefit is the Quinault Nation on the Pacific coast, which is getting $13 million to help move its two villages to higher ground as seas rise. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
FILE - Sonny Curley looks out to the seawall separating his property from the Pacific Ocean at the home he shares with his children and parents Wednesday, May 22, 2024, on the Quinault reservation in Taholah, Wash. Gov. Jay Inslee announced on Tuesday, July 16, that Washington has awarded $52 million raised by the state's landmark carbon emission pricing law to help Native American tribes respond to climate change. Among the tribes that will benefit is the Quinault Nation on the Pacific coast, which is getting $13 million to help move its two villages to higher ground as seas rise. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
CHICAGO (AP) — Spencer Torkelson hit a three-run homer during a five-run seventh inning, and the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox 6-3 on Monday night to complete a four-game sweep and drop the majors' worst team to 31-101.
Parker Meadows led off the seventh with a homer off Jared Shuster (1-3) that tied the game at 2-all. Jace Jung hit a go-ahead RBI single before Torkelson greeted Justin Anderson with a 439-foot drive to center field that made it 6-2.
The White Sox have lost eight of nine and recorded their 31st blown save, the most in the majors. They have four wins in their past 38 games.
Torkelson finished 3 for 5, falling a triple short of the cycle.
Detroit right-hander Ty Madden gave up two runs, one earned, in five innings in his major league debut. The 24-year-old allowed four hits and three walks.
Sean Guenther (1-0) worked 1 2/3 scoreless innings for his first career win, and Tyler Holton handled the ninth for his fifth save.
Andrew Vaughn drove in runs for the White Sox with a sacrifice fly in the first and a single in the third. Andrew Benintendi homered in the eighth for Chicago.
Davis Martin allowed one run on seven hits in five innings for the White Sox.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Tigers: SS Javier Báez will have season-ending surgery on his right hip, manager A.J. Hinch said. Báez was moved to the 60-day injured list. ... LHP Bryan Sammons was optioned to Triple-A Toledo. He allowed one earned run in 4 1/3 innings in Sunday's win over the White Sox. RHP Mason Englert was recalled from Toledo. ... RHP Will Vest was placed on the paternity list.
White Sox: Claimed INF Jacob Amaya off waivers from Houston and designated INF Nick Senzel for assignment. ... Recalled LHP Sammy Peralta and INF Bryan Ramos from Triple-A Charlotte and optioned LHP Ky Bush to Charlotte.
UP NEXT
LHP Brant Hurter (1-1, 3.57 ERA) is set to start for the Tigers Tuesday as they return home to begin a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels, while White Sox ace Garrett Crochet (6-9, 3.64) takes the mound as Chicago hosts the Texas Rangers.
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Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Ty Madden delivers in his Major League debut during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox on Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Detroit Tigers' Colt Keith (33) celebrates his two-run home run with Riley Greene, during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Davis Martin delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers on Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Ty Madden follows through with a pitch in his Major League debut during the third inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox on Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Detroit Tigers' Parker Meadows points to teammates in the dugout after his home run off Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Jared Shuster during the seventh inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Chicago White Sox's Dominic Fletcher dives safely back to first after unsuccessfully trying to stretch his single into a double as Detroit Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson takes the throw from shortstop Trey Sweeney during the fourth inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Detroit Tigers' Spencer Torkelson celebrates his three-run home run off Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Justin Anderson in the dugout during the seventh inning of a baseball game Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)