United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste
and Emergency Response
(5306W)
EPA530-N-97-006
September 1997
http ://www.epa.gov
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The White Mountain Apache
Tribe: Working Together to
Restore the Earth
On a clear morning in July,
the White Mountain
Apache Tribe held a cere-
monial reblessing of the
land at the former Whiteriver dump
site. Representatives of the Tribal
Council, Planning Department, Public
Works Department, student interns,
the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the
Indian Health Service (IHS), and EPA
stood on the final cover, surrounded
by mountains and overlooking a
wooded valley. It was hard to believe
that for over 30 years, members of the
tribe had used the 15-acre site to dis-
pose of household garbage, tires, bat-
teries, refrigerators, and dead animals.
Decomposing waste, rusted metal,
fires, and feral cats and dogs were
replaced by newly seeded fields of
native grasses.
While actual^closure activities
occurred from January to May of this
year, the planning process started in
1993. The Tribal Council realized that,
to address the growing environmental
and health hazards from open dumps,
it had to make solid waste manage-
ment a priority. It allocated a portion
of General Assistance Program fund-
ing from EPA to develop a solid waste
management plan and increase its Plan-
ning Department staff. In addition, it
applied for and received a $1.1 mil-
White Mountain Apache Tribe Public Works
Department employees install erosion control
blankets atop the closed Whiteriver dump.
lion Indian Community Block Grant
from the Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD), which
helped pay for the design and
construction of a new municipal solid
waste (MSW) landfill.
By developing its own landfill, the tribe
provided an alternative to open dumps.
To encourage use of the new landfill and
discourage open dumping, the tribe
started a residential collection program
and expanded community education
efforts. With the opening of the new '
landfill in May 1996, the tribe locked
the gate to the Whiteriver dump. While
the Whiteriver dump was no longer
active, it still remained a problem.
continued on page 7
< Printed on paper that contains at least 20 percent postconsumer fiber.
-------
OSWER Awards a Record Amount of Funding in 1997
Many tribes have reported
that finding sufficient
financing is one of the
most difficult barriers to
overcome when developing environ-
mental programs in Indian Country.
Grants from both federal agencies and
private organizations can provide an
important source of funding for tribes
and Alaska native villages. Two new
EPA grant programs will award more
than $2,8 million this year. In addi-
tion, existing EPA grant programs have
been used by tribes to fund numerous
successful projects, some of which are
described below. For more information
on grant funding opportunities, call the
EPA RCRA, Superfund, and EPCRA
Hotline at 800 424-9346 and order the
recently published guide Grant
Resources for Solid Waste Activities in
Indian Country (EPA530-R-96-051).
WASTE
MANAGEMENT
EPA LAUNCHES
THE MUNICIPAL
SOLID WASTE GRANT
PROGRAM FOR
INDIAN COUNTRY
EPAs Office of Solid
Waste recently launched the 1997
MSW Grant Program for Indian Country,
inviting all federally-recognized tribes,
Alaska native villages, and tribal con-
sortia to submit proposals for coopera-
tive agreements under the MSW Indian
Program. The goal of the MSW Indian
Program is to encourage integrated
solid waste management practices in
Indian Country that are protective of
human health and the environment.
This grant program focuses on build-
ing tribal capacity for MSW activities;
developing tribal organizational infra-
structure; ensuring future sustainability
of tribal solid waste programs; and
building partnerships among tribes,
states, and local communities. In fiscal
year 1997, EPA is awarding eight
demonstration grants of $50,000 to
$100,000 per grant per year for up to
three years. Grant recipients will be
formally announced in late September.
For more information, contact your EPA
Regional Solid Waste Indian Coordinator
(see page 5 for contact information).
OSWER TRIBAL INTEGRATED WASTE
MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE AWARDS
LARGEST GRANTS EVER FOR INDIAN
ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS
EPA recently awarded funding to sup-
port the establishment of integrated
waste management programs in four
tribes: the Jicarilla Apache Tribe in
New Mexico, the Gila River Indian
Community in Arizona, the Metlakatla
Indian Community in Alaska, and the
Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota.
Each will receive $550,000 for a 2-year
cooperative agreement enabling it to
develop regulatory infrastructure to
ensure proper waste management. The
grant program addresses solid waste,
hazardous waste, underground storage
tanks, and emergency response plan-
ning. For example, the Jicarilla Apache
Tribe plans to use this grant funding to
work with the Taos Pueblo to develop
solid waste management regulations;
conduct training and site assessments;
establish a regional planning and infor-
mation data exchange program; and
identify, evaluate, prioritize, and find
solutions for waste management relat-
ed risks in their communities.
EPA AND
ALASKA
NATIVE
HEALTH BOARD
PROGRAM ASSISTS
19 VILLAGES
To assist small tribes, EPA has involved
statewide or regional nonprofit organi-
zations as primary grant recipients who
award subgrants to tribes and villages.
This approach proved successful for 19
Alaska native villages who took part in a
1996 demonstration project with the
Alaska Native Health Board (ANHB),
a statewide, nonprofit, Alaska native-
operated public health group.
EPA provided one $150,000 grant to
ANHB, which then distributed subgrants
of up to $10,000 to villages, typically
with populations of 200 to 500 people.
Each village was required to provide a
5 percent monetary or in-kind match-
ing contribution. ANHB handled EPA's
reporting requirement and devised sim-
plified application and reporting proce-
dures for the villages.
. he demonstration project suc-
cessfully reduced administrative costs,
fostered local initiative and self-suffi-
ciency, and built a transferable solid
waste knowledge base in the villages.
From a pool of 40 applicants, 19 vil-
lages won funding for projects such as
landfill improvements, recycling pro-
grams, litter cleanups, and community
education activities. Each village com-
pleted a brief agreement that spelled
out streamlined reporting procedures
and served as the grant contract with
ANHB.
The demonstration project successfully
reduced administrative costs, fostered
local initiative and self-sufficiency, and
built a transferable solid waste knowl-
edge base in the villages. ANHB found
that almost all of the 19 villages
improved sanitation, and many also
successfully made solid waste manage-
ment decisions and managed projects
at the local level. Due to its success,
EPA and ANHB renewed the project
for 1997 and ANHB has subgranted
funds for a new round of village projects.
-------
NATIVE AMERICAN NETWORK
EPA INCLUDES TRIBES IN
BROWNFIELDS PILOT GRANT AWARDS
As part of its Brownfields Economic
Redevelopment Initiative, EPA awards
pilot grants to tribes and localities to
promote the cleanup and return to
productive use of contaminated prop-
erties. To date, EPA has funded two
tribal Brownfields Pilot projects.
• In June 1996, The Navajo Nation
received the
first Brown-
fields Pilot
grant award-
ed to a
tribe. The
Navajo
Nation will
use the
$200,000 grant to revitalize the
Navajo Forest Product Industries mill
site in McKinley County, New Mexico.
The mill closed in 1995, and there is
evidence of potentially hazardous sub-
stances on the site. Under this pilot
grant, the Navajo Nation plans to
determine the local community's
needs and concerns through an edu-
cation campaign in the Navajo lan-
guage, perform a site assessment to
establish the nature and extent of the
contamination, prepare a remedia-
tion plan, and conduct a public trib-
al meeting to secure a financial com-
mitment from the Red Lake Chapter
of the tribe. For more information,
contact Steve Simanonok of EPA
Region 9 at 415 744-2358.
Puijallup Tribe of Indians
In September 1996, The Puyallup
Tribe was selected for a regional
Brownfields Pilot grant of $100,000
to help redevelop a 52 acre industrial
waterfront area in Tacoma,
Washington. The site is currently
NEW ASSOCIATION GIVES TRIBES VOICE IN
SOLID WASTE AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE
In July 1997, The Tribal Association on Solid Waste and Emergency Response
(TASWER) was formed to involve tribes more actively in EPA's policy and regula-
tory decision-making process. Through TASWER, tribes will enhance their under-
standing of EPA regulations by working closely with the Agency. Prior to the estab-
lishment of TASWER, EPA awarded a cooperative agreement to Americans for
Indian Opportunity (AIO) to hold three regional meetings and a national meeting with
tribal leaders to gauge interest in forming such an association. From these meetings,
tribal members identified the need for, structure of, and objectives of TASWER.
The TASWER board consists of Calvin Murphy of the Eastern Band of Cherokee
Indians, Chad Williams of the Walker River Paiute Tribe, and Dore Bietz of the
Tuolumne Band of Mee-Wuk Indians. The Board voted for the association to be
housed in Washington, DC, and AIO employees will act as temporary staff until per-
manent personnel are hired. TASWER should be fully functional by January 1998.
OSWER is excited about the opportunities that TASWER will provide to tribal govern-
ments. It will provide tribal governments with a vital connection to EPA regulatory man-
^_agers and technical experts who can assist tribes in developing program capabilities to
^manage waste in the most efficient and effective manner possible. For more informa-
tion, please contact LaDonna Harris of AIO at 505 867-0278.
owned by Reichhold Chemical, Inc.,
and is subject to a Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act
(RCRA) storage and corrective action
permit. The tribe is interested in
purchasing parcels of the Reichhold
property in a phased manner. Part of
the grant monies will be used to
finalize the tribes assessment of one
portion of the site. The tribe expects
to lease this portion of the site to the
state Department of Corrections for a
pre-release correctional facility. The
tribe believes that the biggest hurdles
to cross thus far occurred during the
application process and the develop-
ment of the work plan. The tribe is
willing to share its work plan with
other tribes. For more information,
contact James May of Puyallup
International, Inc. at 206 383-2820
or Robbie Hedeen of EPA at 206
553-0201.
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I
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Circuit Riders Take to the Road
With Solid Waste Assistance
EPA's Solid Waste Circuit Rider
program provides hands-on
technical assistance and train-
ing to tribes on solid waste
management issues. Circuit Riders are
typically senior solid waste specialists
with years of technical and planning
experience. Circuit Riders are not EPA
employees, but grantees to the Agency.
Each rider works with the tribes within
his EPA region to assess the tribes' cur-
rent solid waste management activities
and issues, identify what kinds of assis-
tance are needed, and determine how
best to target EPA financial, human,
and technical resources.
The work of circuit riders includes pol-
ity and planning support for tribes as
well as technical assistance. Many tribes
want help establishing or altering envi-
ronmental policies. Circuit riders assist
in this area by training tribal personnel
to manage their solid waste programs
independently; making recommenda-
tions for building a solid waste team;
and working with tribal leaders and
communities to develop solid waste
management codes, ordinances, and
plans, They provide training on federal
environmental laws, such as RCRA, on
which codes are often modeled. Circuit
riders also provide safety and environ-
mental expertise in the development
and implementation of closure plans
for open dumps. The type of assistance
tribes receive depends on the unique
needs of each tribal community. Circuit
riders work to help tribes address
whatever waste-related challenges they
and the tribe may identify.
Currently, EPA Regions 2, 4, 7, 9, and
10 have active circuit riders (see side-
bar for contact information). If your
tribe is interested in more information
about EPA's circuit rider program,
contact your EPA regional solid waste
Indian coordinator (see box on page 5).
The Kickapoo Tribe worked with
Region 7 Circuit Rider Ira Salvini to
close this open dump site, shown here
before cleanup.
ABSOLUTELY HO DUMPING
BY ORDER OF THE
KICKAPOO TRIBE.
VIOLATORS WILL BE
PROSECUTED
OR01HANCE tt KTqi-
The former dump site, shown here
after cleanup, is now fenced and
clearly signed to prevent future dumping.
CIRCUIT RIDERS HELP
GET THE JOB DONE
I any tribes have already
received solid waste assis-
tance from EPA circuit riders. For
example, Region 9 circuit rider Bob
Shelnutt is working with the Santa
Rosa Band of Cahuilla Mission
Indians to clean up a. 500-yard-deep
open dump. Mr. Shelnutt helped
the tribe determine which closure
approach to use, acted as,the,safe-
ty engineer for the operation, and
worked with the -tribe to find fund-
" ing for the project. "Mr. Shelnutt
„ was tenacious in his continued
;..'efforts to assist the tribe in satisfying
regulatory responsibilities for solid
- waste," said Anthony Largo,
spokesman for the Santa Rosa
reservation.
In Region 7, circuit rider Ira Salvini
assisted the Kickapoo Tribe in
Kansas with another dump closure.
Under Salvmi's guidance, the tribe
bulldozed the dump area and cov-
ered the waste with a soil layer,
which they will plant with vegeta-
tive cover. The tribe has now
accepted bids for hauling waste to
an off-reservation landfill. They
- also have contacted a local dealer
;'to" handle scrap iron and old
7 appliances and have plans to set
up" a recycling collection program.
CIRCUIT RIDERS
Region
2 (New York, NY) ''.'.-;'.'.''"*
4 (Atlanta^A) "
7 (Kansas Cjty, KS)
9 (San Francisco, CA} " " ^
10 (Seattle* WA)- , - } _'.; -^,". ^:*_ il]
Note: To request the services of your
regional solid waste Indian coordinator
Circuit Rider
Garrett A. Smith
Clem Egger c;
Ira Salvini \-f :
Bob Shelnutt ,:£
region's circuit rider, contact your :"•
at the phone number listed on page 5.
-------
NATIVE AMERICAN NETWORK
New Flexibility for Small Municipal
Solid Waste Landfills
Small municipal solid waste land-
fills (MSWLFs)—those that
receive no more than 20 tons of
waste per day (averaged yearly)—
now have more flexibility For example,
Congress has established a ground-
water monitoring exemption for small
MSWLFs located in dry or remote
areas. To qualify, a small MSWLF must
have no evidence of ground-water
contamination and the community in
which it is located must either:
• Have no practical waste manage-
ment alternative, and the landfill
must be located in an area that
receives 25 inches or less of precipi-
tation annually; or
• Undergo an annual interruption of
surface transportation, lasting at least
3 consecutive months, that prevents
access to a regional landfill facility.
Most landfills that may qualify for this
exemption are located in the western
contiguous United States and Alaska.
EPA also will soon allow small MSWLF
owners and operators flexibility in the
frequency of cover, in methane moni-
toring requirements, and in final cover
requirements. Owners and operators
of small MSWLFs located in Indian
his new flexibility helps
small landfill owners and operators
reduce their operating costs, while
continuing to protect human health
and the environment.
Country can request this flexibility using
the process described in the EPA guid-
ance document Site-Specific Flexibility
Requests for Municipal Solid Waste Land-
fills in Indian Country. Under this process,
tribal government owners and operators
submit such requests directly to EPA
regional offices. Other owners and oper-
ators, including individual tribal mem-
bers, submit requests to the tribal gov-
ernment. This new flexibility helps small
landfill owners and operators reduce their
operating costs, while continuing to pro-
tect human health and the environment.
| ERA REGIONAL SOLID WASTE INDIAN COORDINATORS
t_r~: ' • •
gRegion Coordinator Phone number
pi (Boston, MA)
P 2 (New York, NY)
*j— .•
s._ -
V-4 (Atlanta, GA)
t" '"
k-
|s5 (Chicago, IL)
Ii6 (Dallas, TX)
fc?7 (Kansas City, KS)
fc 8 (Denver, CO)
iiX, .. . ; •
1 9 (San Francisco, CA)
|" . . . •
|- 10 (Seattle, WA)
I1-"- • • • ' •
|.v .• ..• . - .
,iv-
Joe DeCola
Lorraine Graves
John Filipelli
Sydney Harper
Clem Egger
Dolly Tong
Anan Tanbouz
• , - , . . . - .
Vickie Pastorino
Linda Walters
Marcella Devargas
Rebecca Jamison
Susanna Jrujillo
Fran Stefan .
Al Latourette
617 565-3276
212637-4099
212637-4125
404 562-8483
404562-8470
312886-1019
214665-8195
913551-7269
303312-6385
303312-6243
415744-2098
415744-2099
206553-6639
206553-8202
WasteWi$e Invites
Tribal Governments
to Join
voluntary partnejsrjlp" program"
to reduce solid waste', has
worked with more than 5.00" ~._"
businesses to_rreduce'.waste, '•'"
jLepstSyarid increa'S£-£|ficiency To
le expanding the WasteWi$e."
Dtbgrafh; EPA is riolw invitifig"triBal__
ivefnments torjBin. ""~" ""*' """
Like WasteWi$e business partners,
tribal partj|ersrset 3-year waste reduc- -
tion goajg arid, track their progress ;
gtouallygjnbal governments can join
lrientirety;gjrsign urrjust {hose~~ f ' ;..
"" ST facilities interested in
r|ipandirig,jvaste reduc-
ftlofxact """
eThe Lac^u^Flarnbeau B|rid.,of Lake
Chippewa Indians,'of north-
'isconsin, was, the first tribal
trtnef.;Since joining in January, the
"i.e.has set its.waste reduction goals
gi9,its 8,00 members are working
"s achieving them.
tPrior to joining the program, the tribe
|i,bqasted a successful recycling pro-
p/gram, but had not yet .looked at waste ..
I • prevention, reuse, or buying recycled
f prbducts. Dee Allen, an environmen-
;t|:f.specialist for the tribe, recognized
I Row well the, program goals fit with
; the tribes goals, arid.decided to join.
_ "We are constantly looking for "new
^resources for our businesses and the
jSmmunity," Allen said. "By joining
|WasteWi$e, we' combine our waste
Deduction efforts [with EPA's] "and
pSbtain new materials on iss.ues;:that.
;-afe important to us.". " :L-J. :li _
|For more information, contact, the ,V:=5,",
S?/asteWi$e Helpline at 800 EPAWISE ''
|C372-9473).
v— •*••«-.
-------
Southern Ute Indian Tribe Co-Sponsors
Solid Waste Round Table With EPA
The Southern Ute Indian Tribe
hosted a 3-day "solid waste
round table" on its reserva-
tion in Ignacio, Colorado,
from May 12 to 14,1997. Funded by
a grant from EPA Region 8, the event
included workshops, networking, and
discussions covering many aspects of
solid waste management, including
landfill permitting, transfer stations,
recycling, and public education.
Representatives from over 20 tribes
attended. Speakers at the conference
included tribal environmental coordi-
nators; federal, state, and local gov-
ernment officials; and representatives
of the Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona.
The conference opened with a work-
shop on collecting and marketing
recyclables in small communities,
hosted by the Southwest Public
Recycling Association. Over 30 tribal
representatives attended this work-
shop, which was designed to help
recycling coordinators understand
a
'ver 30 tribal representa-
tives attended this workshop, which
was designed to help recycling
coordinators understand effective
design, operation, and marketing of
small community recycling services.
effective design, operation, and mar-
keting of small community recycling
services. During the remaining two
days, concurrent sessions addressed a
wide array of topics. Representatives
from BIA, for example, described
landfill closures on the Navajo Reser-
vation, addressing cost and financial
and technical assistance. Other ses-
sions highlighted household haz-
ardous waste, solid waste management
plan preparation, and composting. The
conference closed with round table dis-
cussions on funding and policy issues,
education and community involvement,
and state-tribal relationships.
Participants found the event informa-
tive and rewarding. "I have made
many resourceful contacts that will
exchange information with me if
needed in the future," said Vina
Smith, who represented the
Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the
Fort Peck Reservation in Montana.
For more information, contact Cheryl
Wiescamp, the Southern Ute Indian
Tribe's environmental specialist, at
970 563-0135.
The highly successful round table is
just one example of the Southern Ute
Indian Tribe's environmental leader-
ship. The tribe established a recycling
drop-off point, collected used motor
oil, planted trees, and conducted
recycling and composting seminars.
As a result, the tribe's recycling
coordinator received an EPA award
for leadership in pollution preven-
tion and environmental education.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR SOLID WASTE
MANAGEMENT TRAINING
A number of organizations will host solid waste conferences, training sessions, or
other events of interest to tribes this fall. A calendar of these events appears
fealow Torlhe^mosf up-to-date calendar of tribal environmental events, contact EPA"s;
' or visit their Web pageTar , ..............
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"4W4""" •• • "-'"*
October 2
lsTECON 1997, St. Louis, MO
Boyd Nystedt, NT EC,
505 242-2111" -- -
'9f'T^: '
Solid Waste Association
of North America
(SWANA), 301 585-2898
-
November 3-5
KathyHill, Region 10,
20&S53-6220
Hf»»RS;l,i¥*S- ^ .^ -T t, * - *
LNovember 4-6 Tribai/EAcpnferen'celor1 Region 9 Marico Sayoc, Region 9,
Region 10 Tribal Environmental
Confererice^feattle, WA
Tribes, ^nlranciscp, CA
4f5 744-1949
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fovembff 16-21 National S'ongresfpf American Indians Tanya Thrasher,
• •• •' •"' *««(. •)/' 54tri Annual Conference, Santa Fe, NM 202 455-7767
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-------
NATIVE AMERICAN NETWORK
Tribal Operations Committee Brings Tribes, EPA Together
Tribal leaders and EPA formally
chartered the Tribal Opera-
tions Committee (TOC) in
April L956 "to advance the
protection and improve the conditions
of tribal health and the environment in
Indian Country." The TOC accomplish-
es this by providing input into EPA
operational decision-making affecting
Indian Country and facilitating com-
munication and stronger partnerships
between tribes and EPA.
"The TOC assists the agency on policy
issues of a national concern," according
to its co-chair, James Fletcher of south-
ern California's Morongo Tribe. The
TOC, which had met without formal
charter since 1994, consists of the
Tribal Caucus—19 tribal leaders or
environmental managers—plus EPA's
Administrator, Deputy Administrator,
Assistant Administrators, and Regional
Administrators. The group holds four
meetings each year, two as the full TOC
and two at which the Tribal Caucus
meets with EPA's American Indian
Environmental Office and National
Indian Working Group. The meetings
facilitate discussion of environmental
protection programs for which tribes
and EPA share regulatory authority.
The Tribal Caucus also provides annual
budgeting recommendations to EPA as
the Agency assesses funding priorities.
In its recent budget plan for fiscal year
1999, the Tribal Caucus recommended
total spending of $242.4 million on
tribal environmental issues, of which
$72 million would be earmarked for
waste management programs. Calling
solid waste facilities in Indian Country
"either inadequate or nonexistent," the
White Mountain Apache Tribe continued
After developing a permanent closure
plan for the dump and receiving a high
bid from a private contractor, the tribe
determined that its Public Works
Department could do the work more
cost effectively and, at the same time,
develop expertise for future dump clo-
sures. The Planning Department pro-
vided engineering oversight and helped
obtain closure funding from the tribe's
own resources and from BIA, HUD,
and IHS grants.
The dump was closed in two sections.
In the main section, the Public Works
Department used bulldozers to consol-
idate and compact waste in the center
of the site. Crews removed trash from
the surrounding woods and hillsides
by hand and added it to the compacted
waste. Trees damaged by dump fires
were cut down and compacted. The
second dump section consisted of a
steep hillside where waste had been
pushed over the edge whenever the
main dump area had become full. Due
to the high cost of pulling the waste
back up the hillside, the tribe decided
to flatten the slope and cover it in place.
In both sections, the tribe placed 18
inches of compacted earthen material
over the waste. To meet federal regula-
tory requirements for cover imperme-
ability, the tribe mixed soil from nearby
ridges with leftover earthen material from
other construction projects on the reser-
vation. On top of this layer, the tribe
added 6 inches of topsoil. Finally, since
the topsoil was nutrient-poor, the tribe
added fertilizer, sulfur to lower pH, and
sawdust from the Fort Apache Timber
Company to provide organic matter.
The tribe worked closely with BIA to
identify native grasses for the final cover.
In earlier dump closures, seeds had
failed to take root because the grasses
were not suited to the local climate. To
minimize erosion from summer rain-
storms, Public Works personnel and
Tribal Caucus placed waste manage-
ment second behind water programs
among its top 10 budget priorities for
fiscal year 1999. Fletcher said the
Tribal Caucus "feels it's a multi-agency
issue," and the recommendation
reflects this, calling for the $72 million
to be comprised of $20 million from
EPA and $52 million from BIA, IHS,
and HUD.
The TOC's primary goal is to strength-
en awareness of environmental issues
facing tribal communities. In fiscal year
1996, only 44 percent of federally rec-
ognized tribes had environmental pro-
grams in place. The Tribal Caucus rec-
ommended, therefore, that EPA contin-
ue to work with tribes to put programs
in place, and to "assist Indian tribes to
move from capacity building to active
implementation of programs."
student interns put siltation fencing on
the hillsides and fiber matting in drainage
areas to hold seeds and soil in place
until vegetation became established.
While closure costs reached approxi-
mately $300,000 for the dump site, this
amount was less than half the private
contractor's estimate. The tribe consid-
ers the result to be worth the price.
The Whiteriver dump closure demon-
strates that by involving the Council,
federal agencies, and the community, a
reservation open dump site can be '
restored. By working together, the tribe
has taken major steps to change dis-
posal practices and manage its waste in
an envirorrmentally protective manner.
For more information on the White
Mountain Apache solid waste manage-
ment program, contact Keith Jones,'
Environmental Planner for the White
Mountain Apache Tribe, at 520 338-
4346, ext. 223.
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Site-Specific Flexibility Now Available
For Landfills in Indian Country
To facilitate efficient, locally-
tailored solutions to landfill
challenges in Indian Country,
EPA has published Site-
Speei/k Flexibility Requests/or Muni-
cipal Solid Waste Land/ills in Indian
Country (EPA530-R-97-016). This
guidance describes how MSWLF
owners and operators in Indian
Country can request design or
operating flexibility.
Federal regulations set landfill design
and operating standards. EPA
approves state permitting programs
that allow owners and operators to
meet performance standards using
approaches other than those specifi-
cally contained in the federal regula-
tions, A federal appeals court, howev-
er, ruled in the October, 1996
Backcountry Against Dumps v. EPA case
that EPA cannot similarly approve
tribal landfill permitting programs.
GPA, therefore, developed the site-
specific process to encourage non-
permit tribal involvement through
means other than permitting. The
tribe in whose part of Indian Country
a landfill is proposed reviews and
comments on the flexibility requests
of non-tribal owners or operators or
individual tribal members before pass-
ing them on to EPA. EPA considers
the findings of the tribe when evaluat-
ing the flexibility request. In cases
where the tribal government is the
owner or operator, EPA handles flexi-
bility requests directly. For informa-
tion or to order a copy of the guid-
ance, call the EPA RCRA, Superfund,
and EPCRA Hotline. The Hotline
operates from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m.
e.s.t. Call 800 424-9346 or 800
553-7672 (TDD for hearing impaired).
PLANNING UNDER WAY FOR THE NEXT
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
EPA sent out requests for tribes or Alaska
native villages to host the Fourth National
Conference on Tribal Environmental
Management to be held in mid-1998. If
you have ideas for sessions, please con-
tact Steve Etsitty of EPA at 703 305-3194.
SEE YOUR PHOTOS
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