The Utah Navajo Revitalization Fund board has approved $997,220 in grants and loans for housing and other improvements benefiting the Navajo Nation.

Most of the money will help fund construction of new modular homes for 39 families living on the Utah portion of the Navajo reservation in San Juan County.

Also funded: power-line upgrades, a water survey, a new road grader and other equipment.

Ken Maryboy, Navajo Revitalization Fund Board member and San Juan County commissioner, said 39 homes won't meet demand for housing on the reservation.

"But anything is greatly appreciated," Maryboy said. "Some of these people have been waiting years and years."

He said it's not uncommon for two to three families to live together under one roof, and much of the housing in general is substandard.

"Many of these homes were built in the '40s from rock obtained from area uranium mines, exposing families to dangerous radiation," he said, noting that other homes contain unsafe levels of lead and asbestos.

The Navajo Revitalization Fund Board awards grants and low-interest loans to municipal and tribal agencies in San Juan County impacted by the mining and extraction of oil and gas on Utah land. The money is used to make communities more livable, including building homes and senior centers, and paying for water upgrades and youth programs. Seven Navajo chapters on the Utah strip of the reservation are eligible.

The program is managed by the Division of Housing and Community Development under the Utah Department of Community and Culture.