Because the Office of Environmental Health and Engineering's (OEHE) primary mission has always been the protection of health, we are not primarily associated with environmental protection programs, but work closely with those programs that have primarily environmental protection mandates, and provide consultation and technical assistance to tribal communities on issues that effect environmental quality. As a public health program, OEHE improves the environmental quality of the Indian people by focusing on preventing disease and injury.

The Sanitation Facilities Construction Program (SFC) is the environmental engineering component of the IHS health delivery system. The SFC Program provides technical and financial assistance to Indian tribes and Alaska Native communities (tribes) for the cooperative development and continuing operation of safe water, wastewater, and solid waste systems, and related support facilities.

The availability of essential sanitation facilities can be a major factor in breaking the chain of waterborne communicable disease episodes but by no means is their value limited to disease intervention. Safe drinking water supplies and adequate waste disposal facilities are essential preconditions for most health promotion and disease prevention efforts. The availability of such facilities is of fundamental importance to social and economic development. In turn, such development leads to an improved quality of life and an improved sense of well-being.

The Environmental Health Services Program (EHS) seeks to build the capacity of tribes to develop and manage comprehensive environmental health programs at the local level. Program activities cover a wide range of environmental health issues such as facilitation of community environmental health needs assessments; water, wastewater, solid waste surveys and provision of technical assistance in the operation and maintenance of these systems, food service surveys, training of food service personnel, epidemiological investigations of foodborne illness outbreaks, code and ordinance development, and conducting vector surveillance.

EHS activities revolve around the three core functions of public health: assessment, policy development, and assurance.