NACTM Selected to Conduct First of Its Kind

In May of 2010 the United Tribes Technical College graduated 20 Level II Energy Auditors, which was a demonstration project funded through stimulus money. All 20 trainees completed an extensive 18-week course to become certified in Level II Energy Auditing. NACTM was asked by Jim West and Lynn Forcia of the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development to put together a proposal that would provide the UTTC Energy Auditor Level II trainees with viable opportunities for growth.

“We didn’t want to see them work until the money ran out and then be sent home but we really did come in at the eleventh house,” explained Kevin Buckles. In other training projects he went on to explain that NACTM got involved from the ground up, everything from the candidate selection process to the final report. “This is a new market for Indian Country and there were so many unknowns with a lot of risk involved,” said Buckles.

The 18 week course the Energy Auditors received to become certified as Level II Energy Auditor’s can be accomplished in less time and with less money online. With this in mind NACTM had to make the course the trainees underwent a key selling point since the trainees received more in depth training versus the online courses sold by companies like Energy Star. NACTM’s goal is to see the bar raised in Indian Country for quality construction work and he believes that the energy auditor program does just that.

NACTM’s goal was to have them morph into something Indian Country needs, Certified Building Inspectors. One positive outcome of the project is that the energy auditors have been able to legitimize construction by identifying deficiencies in a home such as undersized furnaces and even identifying life safety issues such as black mold and gas leaks.

There were two cases where the auditors found severe carbon monoxide leaks coming from old appliances. Symptoms can range from headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, confusion and sometimes even death. The auditors reported the CO2 leaks right away and this prompted one tribal HUD program to check all tribal homes to see what units needed carbon monoxide detectors installed.

Buckles also noticed that a lot of the residential homes are not made for the region they are located in. Federal Agencies who do construction have building code standards they follow but they may not meet the regional needs of a Tribe.

“Contractors follow a standard but we can’t expect our contractor’s to care more than we do,” explained Buckles. “Tribes are responsible for adopting building codes that are appropriate for their needs.”

An example would be the home of James Buckles whose house was built using 2 x 4’s when it should have been built with 2 x 6’s for the extra insulating value. Insulation levels are specified by R-Value. R-Value is a measure of insulation's ability to resist heat flow so the higher the R-Value the better the thermal performance of the insulation will be. The recommended level for most attics is to insulate to R-38 or about 10 to 14 inches, depending on insulation type. Typically, houses in warm-weather states should have a rating of R-38 insulation in the attic, whereas houses in cold climates should have R-49.

On the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming an energy audit was performed on Hubert Redman’s home, an elderly man with disabilities. The findings were shocking.

“The house had no attic hatch door and the crawlspace had an outside entrance door that was also missing,” said Jason Frens, a Level II Energy Auditor graduate who is part of the energy auditor program.
“It was one of the most energy inefficient homes we have come across,” said Mike Barwick, another Level II Energy Auditor graduate.

The wind was blowing straight through the home, which made it difficult to heat. Barwick also went on to explain that the house lacked insulation on the foundation walls and had only four inches of insulation in the attic. The Tribes’ weatherization program was able to provide Mr. Redman with assistance to get his home weatherized. The first step (and least expensive step) to increasing your home's energy efficiency is to insulate your home and seal any air leaks.

Jason Frens talked about another home on the Wind River Reservation they had audited, which had a heating duct that was disconnected in the basement area and was lying on the basement floor.

“The basement was so well insulated that none of the heat was able to escape,” explained Frens. ”It was incredibly hot in the basement but the rest of the house barely received any heat at all.”

The energy auditors then moved up to northeastern Montana on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Councilman Thomas Anketell of the Fort Peck Tribes had an energy audit done on his home by the Energy Auditor program through NACTM and the results were astonishing.

“I informed him that in his bedroom the walls had an R value of 1,” said Mike Barwick.

Because of the findings of the energy audit Councilman Anketell was able to qualify through a weatherization program to receive $2,500 in insulation blown into his home and have his roof replaced. Temperatures can get to be -27 below without the wind chill in this part of Montana. This means that a house needs to be properly built to endure the harsh winter cold; maintain well insulated walls in order to keep in interior warm; and have a good heating system to further keep the temperature down to a livable condition.

For most, these things are normal. But for others who can barely survive on a daily basis, keeping warm during the winter season isn’t easy.

“I know people who have to make a choice between feeding their families and paying their utilities”, said Kenny Haukaas of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe requested 100 energy audits be done on their tribal housing and the auditors found that a lot of the homes had black mold problems. Through NACTM the auditors and other NACTM trainees received additional training for environmental identification assessments such as black mold and asbestos identification so they know how to properly deal with these types of situations since it can become a life safety issue.

In Browning, Montana the Blackfeet Housing Program also received 100 audits and was able to secure additional funding for their program from the results of the assessments. When a second round of audits was proposed the Blackfeet Housing Authority jumped at the opportunity. Each audit identifies the deficiencies found in a home, which are then given back to the home owner so that they can address these issues. They used the audits to repair all the deficiencies found in homes such as air leaks, undersized furnaces, and missing doors.

“The jobs created need to be considered, the savings the home owner will benefit from to heat their homes in winter needs to be considered, the building supplies bought from a local supplier to repair those deficiencies needs to be considered, and the money earned locally and recycled back into the community needs to be considered,” said Buckles.

“A homeowner may think they need the windows replaced when more insulation is needed in the attic, which is a lot cheaper than replacing the windows,” explains Buckles.

Old and outdated appliances are also a known cause for energy deficiencies in a home and the audit provides an exact assessment of a home owner's appliances and what they are costing the home owner. For example, an energy efficient refrigerator should cost the homeowner $45 annually but an audit found in one on the Rosebud Reservation showed one homeowner the outdated refrigerator he had in his home was running 5 times higher than the norm.

“Construction is the biggest resource we have in Indian Country and we need to extend our hand out to union contractors who are willing to partner with us to not only put our people to work but to ensure they have a pension and health insurance,” said Buckles.

Indian Country knows all too well that the only available jobs at times are in construction. However, it can be sporadic and with many layoff’s occurring in the winter months, especially if people aren’t willing to travel for jobs. Trainees sometimes have negative views and expectations about non-Indian, off-reservation enterprises and organizations, and these negative views can be a barrier for successful employment. Through NACTM’s working agreement with union contractors it has addressed this sporadic job environment by working closely with union contractors to ensure that trainee’s are given the opportunity to continue working with the same contractor even after a construction training project is completed, be it on or off the reservation.

Buckles has also noticed that the number of trainees who were willing to leave for a job off the reservation was substantially less than those that actually did and he identifies family support as a crucial part to their success.

"The guys we have go through our training program are given the opportunity of a lifetime because there is a long list of non-tribal members out there waiting to get into a union training program like we have for our guys," said Buckles. Each trainee is given an opportunity to join a union but are not required to join.

“The way I see it is the jobs are the buffalo,” explained Buckles. “Our ancestors followed the buffalo wherever they went because they knew they had to feed their families. We need to get back to that same concept and not stop at the reservation line.”

For more information regarding Native American Construction Training Management please contact us at info@nactm.com or you can call (303) 746-8129.