Brownfields Training, Research,
and Technical Assistance Grant
Fact Sheet

Cherokee Nation Environmental Program

EPA BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM

EPA's Brownfields Program empowers states, tribes, communities, and other stakeholders to work together to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield site is real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. EPA funds eligible applicants through assistance agreements to provide training, research, and technical assistance to facilitate brownfields revitalization.

ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION

The Cherokee Nation Environmental Program (CNEP) and the Inter-Tribal Environmental Council (ITEC) protect the health of Native Americans, their natural resources, and their environment as it relates to air, land, and water by providing technical support, training, and environmental services in a variety of environmental disciplines. Currently, there are 41 ITEC member tribes that reside in Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas, representing an estimated enrollment of 467,000 citizens. The ITEC Brownfields tribal response program assists its members with the assessment and redevelopment of perceivably contaminated properties.

CHEROKEE NATION ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAMS BROWNFIELDS METHAMPHETAMINE TRAINING

Grantee
Cherokee Nation Environmental Program

Project Focus:
Training, Research, and Technical Assistance Related to Methamphetamine Contaminated Sites in Indian Country

Project Period:
September 2007 to September 2010

Project Description:
Building on the ITEC's previously developed methamphetamine awareness training in FY 2006, the CNEP, in partnership with ITEC, will enhance the existing training to include a "train-the-trainer" component focused on assessment and cleanup of methamphetamine-contaminated brownfields sites. The Meth Lab Assessment Training is designed to empower participants with the information and tools necessary to safely and effectively address the residual contamination generated by illegal production of meth. The training will include a model checklist, which will identify and estimate costs associated with methamphetamine assessment and cleanup, while also incorporating research and technical tools developed by the DEA, FBI, and other non-federal organizations, universities, and tribes. In addition to teaching students how to identify, assess, and remediate former meth lab sites, participants will learn how to identify their community and governmental stakeholders, as well as learn how to construct and maintain a tribal response program. The dynamic training approach will encompass a variety of training mechanisms that will provide the most current and most informative material available so that participants will have the resources necessary to train and develop their own response team.

CONTACTS

For further information, including specific grant contacts, additional grant information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields or call 202.566.2777.

For further information about the ITEC Brownfields tribal response team and its brownfields training and technical assistance activities, visit http://www.itecmembers.org/ or call 918.453.5005.

*The information on this fact sheet is subject to change.