Table of Contents
Action Items
Action
Item
| Provide technical assistance and
resources for Indian Tribes and Native Americans. |
OSWER has awarded a cooperative agreement to Americans for
Indian Opportunity (AIO), a Native American organization, to
provide outreach and technical assistance to Federally
recognized Tribes on EPA's Brownfields initiative. In FY96,
AIO worked closely with the four Tribal applicants, providing
assistance and technical advice on their applications.
Additionally, AIO held two regional forums in FY96 to
determine the interest of Tribal officials in establishing a
Tribal waste association.
| Charlene Dunn |
(202) 260-9466 |
Region 4 has an active program to provide funds and
technical assistance to Tribal governments for solid waste
disposal. In 1995, each of the Federally recognized Tribes in
Region 4 received a General Assistance Grant to address
environmental concerns, including waste management issues.
In addition to General Assistance Grants, Regional Tribes
also receive funding through the Solid Waste Management
Assistance Program (RCRA Section 8001). Funding in excess of
$89,000 was provided for Region 4 Tribal solid waste programs
in 1995 -- $66,168 to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
for continuation of a recycling and public outreach program,
and $23,000 to the Catawba Tribe of South Carolina for
development of a solid waste management plan and initiation
of a program to remediate and prevent open dumps on Tribal
lands.
Three on-going Tribal solid waste management projects
(originally funded in 1994) were extended and completed in
1995: Implementation of a recycling program by the Poach
Tribe of Creek Indians, revival of a recycling program,
suspended after devastating weather, by the Miccosukee Tribe
of Florida; and development and implementation of a Tribal
solid waste management plan and hiring of a solid waste
manager by the Seminole Tribe.
| Houston Gillard |
(404) 562-8675 |
Local governments are routinely the first to respond to
emergency situations in their jurisdictions. To assist the
Tribes, Region 5 offers Title III support to help them
organize Emergency Response Plans and provides First
Responders Training.
In order to develop Tribal capabilities to address
Superfund issues in a more cost-effective way, three Tribal
consortia were created for the northern States (Michigan,
Minnesota, and Wisconsin) utilizing Superfund Site Assessment
funds to learn about, be trained in, and perform site
assessment activities under CERCLA at potential hazardous
waste sites within Tribal jurisdiction. Each consortium was
awarded $50,000 for FY96 which is being managed by a
different entity in each state (Keweenaw Indian Community for
Michigan, the 1854 Authority for Minnesota, and the Inland
Sea Society for WISTEC in Wisconsin).
In order to increase their knowledge of the Superfund
process, Tribal members will be able to directly participate
and contribute in the evaluation of their sites. This will
allow Tribal involvement in the earliest stages of the
Superfund process as well as offering the Tribes the
opportunity to participate in EPA negotiations with
Potentially Responsible Parties for actions on trust lands or
lands affecting trust lands.
| 4/95 |
Completed third First Responders
courses for FY95. |
| 10/95 |
Created a Tribal Consortia and
selected consortia members. |
| 11/95 |
Conducted Preliminary
Assessment/Site Inspection (PA/SI) training to
consortia members |
| 12/95 |
Conducted First Responders Awareness
level training course to Forest County Potawatomi
Indian Reservation, Wisconsin. |
| 1/96 |
Developed Superfund Division's
Tribal Blueprint for FY96-98. |
| 3/96 |
- S. EPA chaired the
Minnesota Tribal emergency planning workgroup
meeting at Prairie Island Indian Reservation
(Minnesota) and introduced SARA Title III
planning.
|
| 3/96 |
Reservation and Barago County,
Wisconsin, provided comments. |
| Glenn Cekus |
(312) 353-6449 |
| Rey Riviera |
(312) 886-1450 |
Region 7 has initiated a number of activities to ensure
that its programs provide technical and financial assistance
to Indian Tribes. For example, the Region is implementing
general assistance agreements with each Tribe to address
solid waste and UST/LUST activities and providing assistance
to address dump closing and the closure and removal of USTs.
The Region also helps Tribes in applying for education grants
to fund and conduct household hazardous waste education and
in applying for pollution prevention environmental justice
financial assistance grants. The Region is also reviewing
environmental codes and ordinances submitted by the Omaha,
Santee Sioux, and Winnebago Tribes to ensure that they
include solid waste requirements.
Region 7 is also working with the BIA and Indian Health
Services (IHS) to provide technical and financial assistance
to the Tribes through interagency agreements (IAGs) and by
providing funds for a circuit rider to assist Tribes with
solid waste, hazardous waste, and UST issues. Region 7 funded
the Tribal circuit rider position using solid waste and
UST/LUST funding for Fiscal Year 1995. Region 7 is also
adding funds to the BIA/EPA interagency agreement to support
the attendance and participation of Tribal personnel at
environmental meetings, training, and conferences.
In addition, the Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas, the Prairie
Band of Potawatomi Indians, Mayetta, and the Omaha Tribe of
Nebraska, Macy, received Regional Environmental Justice
funding of $20,000 each.
Further, the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska received
Environmental Education grant funding to provide household
hazardous waste training to all of the regional Tribes. The
training was held in March 1996.
The Region continues to provide technical assistance to
address dump closing and the closure and removal of USTs. All
of the "open dumps" which were the primary solid
waste disposal mechanism have been closed. Each Tribe has
designated a compliance mechanism for municipal solid waste
disposal.
| 1/95 |
Funded circuit rider to assist
Tribes. |
| 3/96 |
Held training. |
| Althea Moses |
(913) 551-7649 |
OSWER and OSW sponsored the Third National Tribal
Conference on Environmental Management. EPA's sponsorship of
this conference demonstrates the Agency's continuing
commitment to enhance Tribal capacity in implementing RCRA
and other EPA programs, identifying resources for use by
Tribes, and providing support for environmental justice
concerns. OSW has worked with OEJ to ensure representation of
the environmental justice community. If resources permit it,
OSW plans to continue its support, both financially and in
conference planning, for future conferences.
| 5/96 |
Held Third National Tribal
Conference at the Flathead Indian Reservation. |
| Felicia Wright |
(703) 308-8634 |
Action
Item
| RCRA Tribal implementation
issues--Enhance training and outreach activities,
seek to leverage resources, and coordinate
environmental activities among Federal agencies. |
OSW received a Fiscal Year 1995 budget of $500,000 to
provide technical assistance for RCRA activities on Indian
lands. The workplan for the disbursement of these
Headquarters funds (the Regions also fund Indian activities
using Regional resources) was established jointly by
Headquarters and Regional staff. Funds are used to support
Headquarters and Regional Indian activities such as training
and outreach, meeting support, regulatory development, direct
grants to the Tribes and Tribal Consortia, and the circuit
rider program. In FY95, Headquarters contributed $128,000 to
the circuit rider program. OSW also provided seed money for
Regional grants to Tribes. OSW employs two FTE assigned
solely to the Indian Program. Other staff within OSW,
particularly the Municipal and Industrial Solid Waste
Division (MISWD) also support the Indian Program. During the
past year, OSW conducted a variety of activities designed to
enhance Tribal outreach and training:
OSW sponsored a training seminar entitled, Working with
Indian Tribes, with Kickingbird Associates to train
Headquarters and Regional employees on the necessary
sensitivity, knowledge, and understanding of Indian culture
and affairs to facilitate communication between EPA and
Tribal representatives.
OSW is supporting a Northern Arizona University (NAU)
effort to identify and develop solid waste management
training programs designed for Tribes so Tribes can build
capacity in implementing RCRA. OSW awarded a $28,000 grant to
NAU as a first step in identifying solid waste training
opportunities and in setting Tribal priorities for needed
training on a national level. The goal of this effort is to
collect and share information on available training so that
Tribes can increase their capability in managing solid waste
programs, and to identify and close perceived training gaps.
In the future, EPA will evaluate this information to develop
new and improved Tribal training programs.
OSW has continued and is expanding its outreach to Tribes
through the Native American Network and other Tribal-specific
publications in FY95 and FY96. The Native American Network
newsletter officially expanded its coverage to include a
wider array of environmental program issues throughout EPA.
The Network will now be the official OSWER newsletter
representing Tribal issues and activities.
| 9/95 |
Sponsored seminar. |
| 10/96 |
Received final report from NAU. |
| Felicia Wright |
(703) 308-8634 |
In April 1995, the RCRA Program assisted the South Puget
Sound Intertribal Planning Agency (SPIP) to develop a
workshop, "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Respect: A Native
American Perspective on Solid Waste." The workshop was
attended by about sixty people representing Tribes and
agencies from Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. In December
1995, the RCRA program sponsored the Second Annual Native
Alaska Environmental Conference in Anchorage, Alaska. The
conference focused on solid waste and contaminated sites
issues as they impact rural communities.
In December, 1995, Region 10 began developing the Tribal
Guidebook: EPA Programs for Chemical and Waste Hazards,
which was completed in June 1996 and is being distributed by
the circuit riders throughout Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
The guidebook describes EPA programs which address chemical
and waste hazards on or adjacent to Tribal lands. Names and
phone numbers for Agency contact persons are offered
throughout the guidebook.
| 9/94 |
Conducted Warm Springs technical
conference. |
| 10/94 |
Provided funding to attend NRC. |
| 10/94 |
Conducted leadership conferences. |
| 12/94 |
Started workshops on illegal
dumping. |
| 4/95 |
SPIPA Conference completed. |
| 12/95 |
Native Alaska Environmental
Conference completed. |
| 12/95 |
Initiated work on the Tribal
Guidebook. |
| 6/96 |
Completed Guidebook. |
| Fran Stefan |
(206) 553-6639 |
| Al LaTourette |
(206) 553-8202 |
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