TRIBAL WASTE
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Issue 2 • May 2003 • EPA530-N-03-003
j$~T ALL ODDS:
TRANSFER STATION
TRIUMPHS
REGION 8 ROC:
STRENGTH THROUGH
PARTNERSHIPS
FUNDING YOUR
TRANSFER STATION
LUSCIOUS LANDFILLS,
GARBAGE MONSTERS,
AND MORE
-------
IN THIS ISSUE:
:|£THE TRIBAL VOICE
Conversation with Kim
Clausen-Jensen, Pine Ridge
Oglala Sioux 3
FEATURE:
TRANSFER
STATIONS
Creating a Vision for Your
Transfer Station
Captivating Your Council
Ways to Win Community
Support
Funding Your Transfer
Station
Making Your Vision a Reality:
Siting, Designing, and Building
Your Transfer Station
and Maintenance
RESOURCES
%- CONTACTS
KIDS PAC.E
United States Environmental
Protection Agency
Solid Waste and Emergency
Response (5306W)
www.epa.gov/tribalmsw
Janice Johnson, Creative Director
Region 6 Contributor:
Ben Banipal
RESOURCE
CONSERVATION
CHALLENGE
Campaigning Against Waste
Welcome to the second issue of the Tribal
Waste Journal, an important communica-
tions tool of my Resource Conservation
Challenge. The Challenge asks all
Americans to take personal responsibility
for their day-to-day decisions and to take
one small action every day to conserve our
natural resources. By 2005, we aim to
reach a national recycling rate of 35 per-
cent and cut in half 30 priority chemicals
found in hazardous waste. Native
American tribes and Alaskan Native vil-
lages of course play an important role.
WHAT CAN YOU
SAVE TODAY?
S M T W T F S
XSF^Ss,
\\
RESOURCE CONSERVATION
CHALLENGE
The Challenge asks everyone to adopt a resource conservation ethic, to
operate more efficiently and purchase more wisely, and to make and use
environmentally sound products. You have already been hard at work on
similar goals, and I commend your commitment to developing safe solid
waste management options for your communities. It is clear that you
have accepted and overcome environmental challenges of your own.
You have assumed responsibility for improving your environment, sought
change through partnerships and sharing, and used native cultural sym-
bols and words to change old disposal habits.
I encourage you to continue to campaigning against waste and working
side-by-side with your tribal communities, federal agencies, states, and
industry to improve the environment in Indian country. I know you will
appreciate the stories in this issue about how many tribes have worked
"against all odds" to fund and build their transfer stations. You too can
enjoy similar rewards through determination, perseverance, and positive
relationships.
Marianne Lament Horinko
Assistant Administrator
Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response
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TRIBAL WASTE JOURNAL
THE TRIBAL
VOICE
Changing Destiny: Region 8 Tribes
Carve a Bright Future Through Partnersni
Kim Clausen-Jensen's environmental work is legendary among tribes in Region 8. Ms. Clausen-Jensen
directs the Oglala Sioux Environmental Protection Program, which recently opened a landfill to provide
tribal members with a safe disposal option. It took 7 years to plan, design, and construct the landfill,
but patience and persistence paid off. The tribe obtained funding from 12 different agencies and completed
the project. Ms. Clausen-Jensen believes that collaboration is the key to success. Through her position as chair-
woman of the Regional Operations Committee (ROC), she works with other tribes in Region 8 to form part-
nerships. The Tribal Waste Journal (TWJ) wanted to know how ROC members work together and with govern-
ment agencies to address environmental problems. With this and other questions in mind, we spoke with Ms.
Clausen-Jensen on October 30, 2002. The following are excerpts of the interview:
TWJ: How did ROC
get started?
Ms. Clausen-Jensen:
In 1995, the Region 8
tribes formed ROC to
address environmental
issues. We [the Oglala
Sioux Tribe] already
had a tribal operations
committee and
thought, why don't we create a
regional one? It is amazing that a
few people can change destiny. We
were the first tribes in the nation to
form a regional entity to address
environmental concerns. Our goal is
to achieve a better quality of life for
the Native American people, which
have been forgotten.
Representatives from
most of the 27 tribes in
Region 8 attend ROC
meetings quarterly in
Indian country. At the
last meeting, 22 tribes
were represented. We
also invite government
officials to participate
in the meetings.
TWJ: Has ROC influenced the
relationship between EPA and the
tribes?
Ms. Clausen-Jensen: ROC encour-
aged EPA Region 8 to form a single
office to coordinate tribal grants and
issues. EPA Region 8 responded to
our concerns by creating the Tribal
Assistance Program (TAP) office.
TAP makes it easier for tribes to
manage the federal funds they
receive. There are individuals in the
TAP office that can explain how
federal dollars can be used. These
employees help the tribes ensure
that they are using the funding
legally. To manage our grants effec-
tively, we need to understand the
intent of the federal laws.
TAP and ROC have enabled tribal
representatives to build relationships
with EPA officials and employees of
other federal agencies. We get to
know everyone from top officials to
grant managers. We actually like the
people at EPA and IHS. Our rela-
tionship is not 100 percent perfect,
but we've created something that is
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TRIBAL WASTE JOURNAL
unique and works. It is like a mar-
riage—we might not get along all of
the time, but we don't want to get a
divorce. Once you have a founda-
tion of mutual respect and trust, you
can tackle any project.
TWJ: How did tribes use
ROC to build partner-
ships with other federal
agencies?
Ms. Clausen-Jensen:
I don't think that
enough can be said
about the benefits of
partnering. ROC
broke through the bar-
riers with federal agen-
cies by encouraging
tribal representatives to form rela-
tionships with representatives from
federal agencies. It's easier to work
together when you know each other
and understand one another's capa-
bilities. In 2000, ROC encouraged
EPA Region 8 and 30 other federal
agencies such as BIA, USDA, IHS,
and HUD to sign an MOU [memo-
randum of understanding]. Under
the MOU, ROC and the federal
agencies agreed to work together to
remove barriers to effective environ-
mental management in Indian
country.
BIA, EPA, and your tribe might
have small pots of money available
for a project. Putting them together
can form a large pot. You can't work
on environmental projects in a vac-
uum in Indian country because the
issues are too big. ROC pulls federal
agencies into the overall project
planning process from the begin-
ning. Everyone comes to the table
with a blank check and volunteers
to pay for a portion of the project.
TWJ: How does ROC encourage
tribes to share information?
Ms. Clausen-Jensen: ROC was
instrumental in increasing commu-
nication among tribes. Now, we
know our sister tribes well enough
to call them up and share infor-
mation. If one tribe has
established a program to
deal with a particular
issue, that tribe can send
representatives to anoth-
er tribe to share knowl-
edge and copies of grants
and codes. We call it bar-
tering—one tribe sends
their RUS [Rural Utility
Service] grant application
to another tribe in exchange for its
GAP grant application. These docu-
ments can serve as a template for
other tribes, allowing them to avoid
reinventing the wheel.
TWJ: How do ROC representatives
reach consensus and prioritize proj -
ects?
Ms. Clausen-Jensen: Over the last
few years, we have been able to
reach consensus on a number of
issues. We know each other so well.
Sometimes the tribal representatives
break away from discussions with
federal officials to caucus among
themselves. Tribal representatives
don't always agree, and it helps to
speak with one voice to the federal
government.
Sometimes there isn't enough
money to go around. ROC allows us
to prioritize our projects. ROC has
enabled us to look at our sister
tribes and say, our needs are great,
but theirs are greater. We know the
battles that other tribes are facing
because we have been there.
Through empathy, sympathy, and
pity we set our personal interests
aside. We decide as a group to put
one tribe's project ahead of the oth-
ers. Other tribes still apply for the
same grant, but inform the funding
agency that they would rather see
another tribe funded first.
TWJ: Do you have advice on
developing an environmental pro-
gram?
Ms. Clausen-Jensen: Often, I see
tribes try to take on too much at
once. Start slow and develop your
program. Obtain funding for your
staff. Many tribes use GAP
(General Assistance Program) fund-
ing to pay for their environmental
program staff. You might start an
environmental program by hiring
one person and training them to
tackle one issue. Don't ask them to
conduct inspections during the first
year. Start with a task that they can
handle. Later, you can add addition-
al staff and new components to your
program. As you discover new envi-
ronmental issues, bring them to
EPA and try to obtain funding for
additional employees.
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TRIBAL WASTE JOURNAL
FEATURE
5TORY
-^X^^^x-^^xv^
Creating a Vision for Your Transfer Station
eveloping a transfer station that will work in your community requires a vision, and good information. By
developing solid waste management plans, performing waste assessments, conducting site visits, and direct-
ing feasibility studies, tribes can take the pulse of their communities before breaking ground for their projects.
Develop a Solid Waste
Management Plan
"Solid waste management plans
serve as a road map for the future,
forcing you to set goals and think
about strategies for achieving
them," according to Laura Weber,
director of solid waste management
for the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe.
Specifically, she believes that tribes
"In the beginning, there was
lonely Coyote. Whatever else
there was around, it was
small and distant and hard to
see... And then she met Silver
Fox... Coyote and Silver Fox
closed their eyes very tight
and sang together. They sang,
'I want to see something.
I want to see something.
I want to see something.'
While they sang, each
imagined what they
wanted to see."
-Miwok Creation Myth .
should develop solid waste manage-
ment plans that integrate transfer
station operations with the rest of
their solid waste management serv-
ices, such as waste collection, pre-
vention, and recycling activities, to
better evaluate the whole picture.
While the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe
has used solid waste management
plans primarily as a planning and
design tool for transfer stations, the
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
decided to use a solid waste manage-
ment plan to evaluate three alterna-
tives: 1) building a new landfill,
2) building a transfer station, or
3) contracting with surrounding
counties to use their waste dis-
posal facilities.
Ultimately, by outlin-
ing the communi-
ty's goals in the
management plan
and sticking to
them, the tribe
decided that
building a
transfer
station
would be
most
effective.
Tribes can continue to use solid
waste management plans even after
opening their transfer stations. The
IHS helped the Tule River Indian
Tribe develop a solid waste manage-
ment plan that includes a long-term
recycling strategy and financial plan
for the transfer station. The St. Regis
Mohawk Tribe is enhancing its solid
waste management plan to include
an expansion strategy for its solid
waste management program, includ-
ing establishing a composting opera-
tion at the transfer station.
Interviews with each of these tribes
indicate that solid waste manage-
ment plans are excellent tools for
looking at solid waste programs in a
comprehensive fashion.
Conduct a Waste Assessment
Building a transfer station that is
either too large or too small can
lead to higher operation and main-
tenance costs, inefficient operations,
or overload. To properly size a trans-
fer station, several tribes recom-
mend conducting a waste
assessment. The Eastern Band of
Cherokee Indians, for example,
learned from its waste assessment
that it generates enough waste to
warrant a large transfer station. The
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TRIBAL WASTE JOURNAL
Onondaga Nation, on the other
hand, found that it generates only a
few tons of waste per week, and so
decided to build a much smaller
transfer station.
Tribes can use either volume- or
weight-based waste assessments to
evaluate the waste generated by
their communities. The St. Regis
Mohawk Tribe, for example, meas-
ured the volume of waste collected
through its curbside collection serv-
ice to determine the correct size for
its transfer station. To estimate
commercial waste volumes, tribal
members visited a representative 10
percent of the businesses on the
reservation, recording the volume of
the waste storage containers at each
site and how often the containers
required emptying.
The Eastern Band of Cherokee
Indians conducted a weight-based
waste assessment by soliciting
approximately 200 households and
several businesses to participate in a
study. For a specified period of time,
participants placed all of their solid
waste and recyclable materials in
special garbage bags. At the end of
the study period, solid waste staff
collected the bags and separated the
waste by hand, weighing paper, food
scraps, and glass separately on a set
of hanging scales. The tribe then
used the waste assessment data to
estimate current waste generation
rates, identify recycling opportuni-
"Know your waste stream.
A waste assessment pro-
vides information about
potential recycling opportu-
nities and helps you choose
a transfer station design."
-Calvin Murphy, Eastern Band
of Cherokee Indians
ties, and plan its transfer station.
Combining data about future
growth in the community with the
waste assessment results, the tribe
was able to determine the correct
size for its transfer station.
Conduct Site Visits
Visiting other transfer stations to
determine what features work best
in different communities can save
money and time in the planning
process. By talking with facility
operators and evaluating different
configurations in several communi-
ties, for example, Merlin Tafoya, Sr.,
executive director of the Public
Works Division for the Jicarilla
Apache Nation, learned that
enclosed facilities are most effective
in regions that experience harsh
winters. Mr. Tafoya's personal
research convinced the tribal coun-
cil to approve an enclosed facility.
The Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation also
concluded that building an enclosed
facility was preferable in its commu-
nity after visiting three transfer sta-
tions in similar size communities.
Tribal employees learned that open
facilities produced greater litter and
odors, even if the facilities are small.
Based on this observation, the tribes
chose to build an enclosed facility
to minimize these problems.
If some tribes lack funding for person-
al site visits, phone calls can also be
an effective information-gathering
tool. Tribes can contact other com-
munities as well as haulers and land-
fill operators. When employees of the
Oglala Sioux Tribe made phone calls,
for example, they discovered that
transporting waste from a transfer sta-
tion on the reservation to a landfill
off the reservation would be too
expensive and that tipping fees at the
nearest landfill were very high.
Consequently, the tribe decided not
to build a transfer station at all, but
"The feasibility study was
useful. We were trying out a
new type of waste disposal
and needed to know how
to do it."
-Bonnie Burke, solid waste man-
ager for the Confederated Tribes
of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
to build its own landfill. When
Onondaga Nation contacted waste
haulers to gather information about
small transfer stations, it obtained a
variety of construction and operation
cost estimates for several different
designs.
Perform a Feasibility Study
Performing a feasibility study is
another way to assess the current
and future needs and resources of
the community prior to building a
transfer station. Using economic
analysis and current waste genera-
tion rates, combined with the stated
priorities of the community, a pri-
vate firm helped the Jicarilla
Apache Nation determine that
building a transfer station was
indeed the most affordable and
effective long-term solution to its
solid waste needs. The firm also
used the tribe's information to eval-
uate transfer station designs and
draft a business plan for developing
and operating the transfer station.
The Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation also
hired a private firm to complete a
feasibility study for its transfer sta-
tion. The study indicated that a
tribal transfer station could be prof-
itable and provided the tribes with
an action plan. It also listed siting
requirements, identified short and
long-term goals, and highlighted
potential obstacles.
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TRIBAL WASTE JOURNAL
Captivating Your Council
pen dumps = problem. Transfer station or landfills = solution. While this concept might be black and
white to some, tribal councils and others in positions to approve such a plan might not understand
the connection.
That's why the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, the Fort Peck Reservation, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe of the Pine
Ridge Reservation have compiled their four major secrets to success in convincing tribal councils that these
solutions can address a major scourge in their communities. Gaining tribal council approval for transfer sta-
tions paves the way for obtaining funding, particularly from IMS. To get IMS Sanitation Deficiency Systems
(SDS) funding for transfer station construction, the tribal council must place solid waste as its top priority.
A Picture Is Worth A
Thousand Words
One of the secrets to successful per-
suasion is just a click away. That's
what tribal environmental managers
found when they used pictures to
present their cases to council mem-
bers. Pictures not only helped tribal
council members "see" all the open
dumps that scar Indian lands, but
also how transfer stations can help
provide a cleaner, safer environment
for their community.
Laura Weber, director of solid waste
management for the St. Regis
Mohawk Tribe, says that showing
her tribal council pictures of open
dumps "was a big eye opener" and
eventually led to its support of her
environmental department's propos-
al to build a transfer station.
Deb Madison, Fort Peck's environ-
mental program manager, also found
pictures to be an effective persua-
sion tool. When the Fort Peck
tribes applied for SDS funding, Ms,
Madison had to explain to the tribal
council why they should designate
solid waste management the reser-
vation's number one priority.
In her presentation, Ms. Madison
showed the council members pic-
tures of open dumps and roll-off
sites and educated them about how
these sites fit into the reservation's
existing Integrated Solid Waste
Management Plan. Ms. Madison
commented, "It was helpful to show
the council how roll-off sites fit into
the big picture. We showed the
council that roll-off sites are part of
a larger plan that includes recycling
and waste prevention."
Seeing Is
Believing
If pictures aren't
enough to persuade
your council members,
"take them to open
dumps, and to open
burning sites. Let
them stand downwind
of smoke," urges Ms.
Weber. This strategy
worked for her tribe.
FOR WORKING
WITH YOUR
TRIBAL
COUNCIL
1 Use pictures; they are worth a
thousand words.
1 Take council members to visit
open dumps and transfer sta-
tions.
1 Find a federal "friend" or sup-
portive community members.
1 Educate your community.
1 Be patient.
1 Be persistent—don't give up!
Two of her five council members
joined her on trips to visit transfer
stations at the Eastern Band of
Cherokee Indians and the Alabama-
Coushatta Tribe. "When they saw
the equipment working, they really
bought into it," she said.
A Champion for Your Cause
Combined with pictures, you stand
an even greater chance of success if
you can win the support of at least
one tribal council member to serve
as your "champion." One way to
A picture is worth a thousand words...
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TRIBAL WASTE JOURNAL
gain this support, says Kim Clausen-
Jensen of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, is
by "schmoozing" the council as
much as possible. She does this by
keeping the council informed
through monthly briefings.
"You get even better results when
you approach the council with a
new idea if you can make it seem
like it's their idea," asserts Ms.
Clausen-Jensen.
Taking another approach, Ms.
Madison asked her IHS engineer to
help her convince council members
to make solid waste a priority. The
engineer told the council that there
was a good chance that the roll-off
sites would get funded if the tribes
placed solid waste at the top of their
priority list. According to Ms.
Madison, hav-
ing an IHS
engineer advise
the council
helped her
council mem-
bers feel "more
comfortable in
communicating
their needs."
OGLALA Si
Instead of using federal agency staff
to support their cases, some tribes
have brought in respected commu-
nity members as a show of support
for their solid waste projects. Some
solid waste managers, for instance,
have formed community advisory
councils to help make their case to
the council.
Representatives from several tribes
at the 2002 Solid and Hazardous
Waste Interactive Workshop, held
at the Spirit Lake Casino and
Resort, advocated this approach.
They emphasized the powerful influ-
ence of having such a group support
and advocate your case in front of
the tribal council. Several people
mentioned that before forming a
community advisory council, the
"If pictures aren't enough to
persuade your council
members, take them to
open dumps, and to open
burning sites. Let them
stand downwind of smoke."
-Laura Weber, director of solid
waste management, St. Regis
Mohawk Tribe
tribal council tended to ignore them
because it was just one person
pleading the case. With this group
standing behind them, it became
harder for the tribal council to put
them off.
Even for those tribes where
environmental staff enjoy a
close relationship with their
tribal council, winning them
over takes time. "If they're
not real encouraging, keep
going back," urges Ms.
Weber. She says in her case,
0 U X it took a l°t °f "hounding
and educating" to get solid
waste on a level playing field with
competing priorities such as water
and sewer projects. Eventually, "per-
sistence paid off," and now tribal
council members trust
Environmental Division staff to
bring important issues before them.
Behind-the-Scenes
Education
Despite all the efforts described so
far, overcoming tribal council resist-
ance might, at some point, seem
impossible. At that point, take the
time to educate community members
about the cause. In the case of the
Oglala Sioux, this behind-the-scenes
education paid off.
According to Bobby Sullivan, the
public involvement coordinator for
the Pine Ridge Reservation, when
the tribe went to the council seek-
ing support for a proposed landfill
operation, it encountered stiff resist-
ance over siting concerns. Instead of
pressing the issue, Ms. Sullivan
decided to wait for the next tribal
council election. In the meantime,
she and other environmental
department staff used the time
before the election to educate cur-
rent and potential council members
about the landfill. They showed
these individuals blueprints and pro-
vided paperwork. They also gave
presentations at public meetings and
spoke with the tribe's district coun-
cils, which keep residents informed
about tribal council business. After
the election, the tribal council
approved landfill construction.
Fort Peck Reservation's roll-off site in Poplar, Montana.
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TRIBAL WASTE JOURNAL
Ways to Win Community Support
Following the old adage "the early bird catches the worm," Kerri
Vera, environmental program manager for the Tule River Indian
Tribe, began her community education campaign a year before
the transfer station opened. "Without their support, your efforts, howev-
er well-intended, will not be successful," she asserts. With her tribal
council already on board, Ms. Vera turned her attention to gaining com-
munity support for the transfer station.
As a first step, the Tule River Tribal
Environmental Department
Program ran a series of articles in
the tribal newsletter on why the
community should be concerned
about solid waste management, how
their choices contribute to the fill-
ing of California's landfills, and how
to reduce household waste.
Next, the Tribal Environmental
Program informed the community
about various aspects of the transfer
station, including when it would
open and the types of waste citizens
could dispose of at the facility. In
addition to explaining the "whys and
hows" of the transfer station project
to the community, the tribe recog-
nized outstanding community efforts
to reduce and recycle solid waste. To
do this, it developed a graphically
appealing environmental newsletter
and featured photographs and "thank
you" articles on those individuals
who helped with roadside and river-
side cleanups or donated land for
abandoned vehicle clean-up. Ms.
Vera believes the outreach campaign
"helped stimulate interest in the
roles we can and do play in waste
production and reduction."
Other tribes with solid waste com-
munity outreach programs also
stressed the importance of explain-
ing to people how their personal
choices can impact the well-being
of the entire community. To drive
this point home,
the Onondaga
Nation used words
from their native
language and cul-
tural symbols in
some of its promo-
tional materials
and signs for the
transfer station.
Underlying these
materials, says Jeanne Shenandoah,
is the cultural mandate to "care for
Mother Earth and prevent waste."
Like the Tule River Nation, the
Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Reservation
found that an environ-
mental newsletter was
a wonderful way to
keep residents
informed about
transfer station oper-
ation and waste reduc-
tion progress. Filled
with "exciting graphics and
tips for reusing products," one
recent issue, for example, suggested
reusing old milk jugs by tying them
together and hanging them on
-OR C R E^ T I RG
COMMUNITY
SUPPORT
Start your community outreach
and education program early.
Involve your community in
important decisions.
Use your tribe or village's lan-
guage and culture to increase
Keep your community
involved through public meet-
ings, newsletters, and e-mail
announcements.
barbed wire fences to scare cattle
away and keep the cows from get-
ting hurt.
The Umatilla also keep tribal
employees updated about the trans-
fer station by sending e-mails and
outreach materials to all tribal
departments. They plan to expand
the tribes' education program to
include transfer station tours and
more activities for children.
Public hearings and meetings are
another way to take the pulse of
your community. For instance, the
Jicarilla Apache Nation received a
mandate from their community to
"do whatever is necessary to
manage our waste safely and
effectively" during a public
meeting. According to
Merlin Tafoya, Sr., exec-
utive director of public
works, the community
not only supported the
r r
construction or a transfer
station, but it provided "over-
whelmingly positive" feedback once
it opened. Tribal members found the
transfer station cleaner and easier to
use than the previous dump sites.
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TRIBAL WASTE JOURNAL
10
Scale house at entrance to
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians'
transfer station site.
As for the Eastern Band of
Cherokee Indians, a public hearing
ruled out plans to build a landfill
and, instead, backed the construc-
tion of a transfer station.
If, like many tribes, you're wonder-
ing how to pay for your education-
al campaign, Chief Powless of the
Onondaga Nation might have a
solution. Chief Powless encourages
other tribes to gather outreach
materials from surrounding counties
and waste management companies.
He said, "Many of the smaller waste
management companies believe in
recycling. They have already creat-
ed brochures and other materials to
promote recycling. Counties have
also developed outreach materials
on waste disposal and recycling. It's
easy to start an education program if
you leverage resources."
If you distribute your educational
materials and find some citizens still
continue to dump their waste ille-
gally, then you might want to try
one-on-one visits
with the uncoop-
erative citizens.
MjT *^M
The Onondaga
Nation used
this approach
''Underlying these materials
is the cultural mandate to
care for Mother Earth and
prevent waste."
-Jeanne Shenandoah,
Onondaga Nation
refused to recycle and continued to
dump illegally. These one-on-one
household visits were successful in
convincing these hold-outs to use
the Nation's transfer station.
with the few
households that
TRIBES CLEAN UP AT WASTEWISE
AWARDS CEREMONY
EPA recently recognized the Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation, Robinson Rancheria of Porno
Indians, and Blue Lake Rancheria tribes for their outstandi
waste reduction activities at the WasteWise Annual Meeting
and Awards Ceremony in Washington, DC.
The three tribes' notable waste reduction activities include:
• Implementing aggressive recycling programs.
• Composting restaurant food scraps.
• Purchasing recycled content paper.
• Developing and delivering a presentation about waste
prevention, recycling, and buying recycled-content
.__ products to the tribal governing board.
Administrator); Bonnie Burke (Contederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation); Aria Ramsey and Tall Chief
Comet (The Blue Lake Rancheria of California); Charles
Bearfighter Reddoor (EPA OSW)
Preserving Resources,
Preventing Waste
WasteWise is a free and voluntary partnership program that provides technical assistance and
recognition to partners that pledge to reduce waste. If you are interested in joining the more
than 35 tribes and native villages that are WasteWise members, visit ,
or contact the WasteWise Helpline at 800 EPA-WISE (372-9473).
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TRIBAL WASTE JOURNAL
Funding Your Transfer Station
Finding funding for your solid waste project can be a challenging experience—like looking for a needle in
a haystack! Long, complicated applications coupled with a myriad of reporting, environmental, and
financial requirements can challenge even the most experienced grant writer. Even so, federal grants and
loans may be your best bet to build the solid waste facility that you need.
Through determination, perseverance, and a little help from their agency representatives, the tribes we inter-
viewed turned a frustrating and formidable process into hard cash that is making their solid waste visions a
reality. They maintain that you, too, can enjoy similar rewards if you are willing to:
• Be bold and ask questions of your agency representatives
• Follow the grant process one step at a time
• Live up to your end of the bargain—do what you said you would do!
Finding Funding: Fellow
Tribes, Internet Offer
Options
Many federal agencies offer grants
and loans for solid and hazardous
waste projects that fall within their
purview. "The challenge is finding a
grant that fits your needs," explains
Deb Madison, the environmental
program manager of the Fort Peck
Reservation Environmental
Protection Office. "Creativity is the
key to success. Grant writers need
to find ways to make grants fit tribal
needs.
At the same time, tribal leaders
must realize that some needs cannot
be met through grants. For example,
very few grants are avail-
able for operation and
maintenance activities.
Because of this, Ms.
Madison urges tribes to
determine how their
transfer station's operation
and maintenance will be
financed even before con-
struction begins.
Numerous resources are avail-
able to help you identify sources of
funding. Most federal agencies
announce grant and loan availabili
ty in the Federal Register and provide
information on their Web sites.
Some agencies send out announce-
ments and solicitations for their
grant programs. For example, the
Interagency Work Group
mails out an
annual announcement and solicita-
tion for its open dump cleanup
grants.
Another way to learn about avail-
able grants is talking with other
tribes. Several tribes mentioned
conversations with neighboring
tribes as a primary source of grant
information. Sharing information
and experiences can be mutually
beneficial. Some tribes even
exchange successful grant appli-
cations to help improve their
future grant applications.
Internet searches can also
turn up information on
funding opportunities. That
is how Kim Clausen-Jensen,
director of the Oglala Sioux
Environmental Protection
Program on the Pine Ridge
Reservation, found out about
USDA's Rural Development grants.
"All of the agencies have Web sites
with descriptions of their grant pro-
T I
•FOR
FUNDING
YOUR TRANSFER STATION
• Apply for a variety of grants.
• Talk to other tribes to share
information and experiences.
• Develop good relationships
with your regional agency rep-
resentatives.
• Seek creative solutions to
obstacles.
• Be accountable—earn a posi-
tive reputation.
• Be persistent—do not give up!
grams including applications,
instructions for applying, and con-
tact information for state and
regional representatives," says Ms.
Clausen-Jensen. (See the Resources
section on page 21 for a listing.)
The Tribal Association of Solid
Waste and Emergency Response
(TASWER) can also help tribes and
native villages locate funding by
directing them to the appropriate
representative for each source of
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TRIBAL WASTE JOURNAL
funding. During 2002, for example,
TASWER helped the Native Village
of Ouzinkie obtain funding from the
BIA to replace several above ground
storage tanks. TASWER1 s Web site
(www.taswer.org) lists "10 Pots of
Money" available to tribes and
native villages.
A number of private and nonprofit
foundations and organizations offer
environmental grant programs. The
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation, for example,
received a $25,000 grant from the
JELD-WEN Foundation for construc-
tion of its transfer station and recy-
cling program. Grant Resources for
Solid Waste Activities in Indian Country
(EPA530-R-98-014) provides an
extensive list of private sources of
funding for tribes and native villages.
Building Relationships
Reaps Rewards
In addition to speaking with other
tribes or villages, Ms. Clausen-
Jensen believes speaking with your
federal agency representatives is cru-
cial to securing funds. "Educate
them about your tribe's history, cul-
ture, and current situation. Explain
all of your tribe's accomplishments,
especially the ones dealing with
solid waste. If they understand your
tribe, who you are, and what you
have accomplished, they are more
likely to support you in future
endeavors," she says.
When preparing your grant applica-
tion, Ms. Clausen-Jensen adds,
"Don't be afraid to ask them for help
or to outline the steps to completing
a grant application. That is their
job. That is why they are there."
As you develop relationships, Ms.
Clausen-Jensen believes it is impor-
tant for tribes to "take the lead on all
initiatives." She advises, "Be positive,
constructive, and flexible in working
with your agency representatives."
Mavis Hass, from USDA Rural
Development's Rural Utility Service
South Dakota Office, supports this
view. "The communication has to
be there. That is where the whole
thing starts." When working on
your loan/grant application, Ms.
Hass recommends making a
trip to the agency office if
you are having difficulty
completing the application.
Bobby Sullivan, the Pine
Ridge public involvement
coordinator, made several
visits when she started work-
ing on the Rural Development
application. According to Ms.
Sullivan, "I called Mavis all the
time and camped out in the Rural
Development office for 2 weeks
while she walked me through the
application process. She showed me
what to do and helped me obtain
the right signatures." Ms. Sullivan
offers, "The Rural Development
staff is there to help you. Call your
regional people and let them show
you what to do. Let them help you."
Laura Weber, the director of solid
waste management for the St. Regis
Mohawk Reservation, is also a firm
believer in the importance of rela-
"If you can demonstrate to
the agency representative
that your tribe has been
successful in the past and is
responsible and account-
able, he or she is more like-
ly to support you in secur-
ing future technical assis-
tance and funding."
-Kim Clausen-Jensen,
director of the Oglala Sioux
Environmental Protection
Program, Pine Ridge Reservation
tionship building. She first learned
about IHS Sanitation Deficiency
System (SDS) funding for solid
waste from an IHS engineer she met
while working on some water pro] -
ects. In addition to telling Ms.
Weber about SDS funding,
the engineer also pointed
her toward HUD's Indian
Community Develop-
ment Block Grant
(ICDBG) program.
If you are like Ms.
Weber, you may find your
relationships paying off in
unexpected ways. Out of the
blue, she received a call from her
USDA contact. He told her that his
program had available grant funding
and that he thought she should
apply for it. She worked closely with
the regional project officer during
the application process, and the
tribe received the grant for con-
struction of its transfer station.
If you find that your regional repre-
sentatives are not responsive, Ms.
Weber suggests inviting them to
your reservation to build a relation-
ship with them. Her tribe conducts a
weekend cultural sensitivity work-
shop designed to help individuals
from outside the community under-
stand the tribal perspective.
"Partnering with a regional represen-
tative benefits both your tribe and
the federal agency," says Ms. Weber.
Earning a Reputation:
Those that Give, Get
In addition to building a relation-
ship with your agency representa-
tives, many tribes emphasized the
importance of building trust and a
positive reputation for your tribe or
village. Ms. Clausen-Jensen believes
that building trust is a major part of
this process. "If you can demon-
strate to the agency representative
that your tribe has been successful
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TRIBAL WASTE JOURNAL
"Partnering with a regional
representative benefits both
your tribe and the federal
agency."
-Laura Weber, director of solid
waste management, St. Regis
Mohawk Tribe
in the past and is responsible and
accountable, he or she is more likely
to support you in securing future
technical assistance and funding."
Ms. Clausen-Jensen believes that a
good way to build this trust is to
make sure you submit all required
reports and meet all agency require-
ments when you do receive a grant.
She adds, "This attention to detail
is especially crucial with pilot proj-
ects. If agencies cannot document
the success of a pilot project, it is
unlikely to be continued.
Submitting the required reports
helps the agency justify the project
to internal federal reviewers and can
help ensure that the project receives
continued funding. Live up to your
end of the bargain—do what you
said you would do."
Running into Roadblocks
Securing federal grants and loans is
a great way to pay for construction
of your transfer station, but it does
not come without difficulties or
challenges. Frequently, the biggest
roadblock to obtaining federal
grants is completing the application.
Most agency applications are very
long and complicated. USDA's
Rural Development grant/loan
application, for example, provides a
checklist of required items to help
applicants—and the checklist itself
is six pages, double-sided! Some
applications also require specific
information or data that many tribes
do not have immediately on
hand, such as the HUD ICDBG
application, which requires spe-
cific census data.
Many federal grants and loans
also require contractor bond-
ing. USDA's Rural Utilities
Service, for instance,
requires contractors to
secure performance and
payment bonds. It also
requires a fidelity bond
(a.k.a., a crime and dis-
honesty bond) for anyone
with access to the grant
or loan money to protect
against embezzlement or
misappropriation of
funds.
Another hurdle in the
grant process is complying
with the National Environmental
Protection Act (NEPA). NEPA
requires any construction by a feder-
al agency, or any construction using
federal funds, to undergo an envi-
ronmental assessment (EA) or an
environmental impact statement
(EIS). The funding agency is
required to perform the EA or EIS,
but tribes must be involved in the
process.
Reporting requirements are the final
challenge with which tribes must
contend. Many agencies require
periodic progress and financial
reports and a final report or assess-
ment. These reports are not usually
difficult, but can be time consuming.
Strategies for Success
1. Turning Failure into Success
If you apply for a grant and do not
receive it, Ms. Weber recommends
calling your agency representative
and asking why and how you can
improve your chances in the future.
The first time she applied for a
HUD ICDBG, her tribe was not
selected. She
called the HUD office to find out
why and ask for ways to improve the
application. The HUD representa-
tive sent back her application with
an evaluation form. She used
HUD's comments to revise the
application. When she resubmitted
it, HUD awarded her tribe an
ICDBG. Ms. Weber advises, "Don't
be afraid to pick up the phone and
call your regional representatives.
Be bold and ask questions."
2. Divide and Conquer
One possible strategy for increasing
your tribe or village's chance of
receiving grants is to break big proj-
ects into discrete portions and seek
funding for the individual parts. Ms.
Clausen-Jensen points out that
obtaining $75,000 from an agency
for a portion of your program, such
as a collection truck or compactor,
might be easier than obtaining
$600,000 for the entire program all
at once.
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TRIBAL WASTE JOURNAL
Making Your Vision a Reality:
Siting, Designing, and Building
Your Transfer Station
Once your vision for a transfer station has the support of the tribal council and the community, and
you have secured the necessary funding, it is time to site, design, and build your facility. Some tribes
select the site first and design their facility around the physical characteristics of the land. Other
tribes design their transfer station first and look for land that will best accommodate it. In many instances, tribes
do both simultaneously. No matter which approach you use, certain principles will apply. This section discusses
how the siting of your transfer station can affect its success, the importance of designing a facility that meets
your tribe's specific needs, and the benefits and drawbacks of different construction approaches.
Choosing a Site
When siting a transfer station,
tribes have learned that a few key
factors can greatly influence the
success of a facility. These include:
• Central location
• Access to major (paved) roads
and highways
• Community's familiarity with
the site
• Impacts on the surrounding
community and environment
D E $ I C N I N C
Determine your key siting crite-
ria before you begin your site
search.
Choose a familiar and centrally
located site with easy access
to major roads if possible.
Design your transfer station to
meet your tribe or village's
specific needs and situation.
Use local contractors to avoid
service and repair problems.
• Buffer space between the facili-
ty and the community
• Adequate space for future
expansions
• Topography
• Impacts on traffic
• Access to utilities (i.e., water
and electricity)
Siting a transfer station in a central
location and providing access to
roads and highways are two factors
that ranked highest on several
tribes' lists of siting criteria.
Community familiarity with the site
(such as using former dump sites) is
another factor that many tribes rec-
ommended to encourage transfer
station use. Considering a transfer
station's impact on the neighboring
community is also important, as
proper siting can minimize the
effects of noise, odor, traffic, litter,
and pests on a community.
Considering how the transfer sta-
tion might expand in the future,
such as adding composting opera-
tions or used goods swaps, can also
impact site decisions.
The Onondaga Nation found suc-
cess in its siting decisions by choos-
ing a former open dump site located
on an uninhabited road. Tribal
members were already familiar with
this location, and it is situated away
from homes and the community
center, thereby providing a buffer
space that helps minimize noise,
odor, and traffic impacts. In addi-
tion, the site is between three high-
ways, which allows easy access for
tribal members, minimizes traffic
congestion, and facilitates waste
removal by the contract haulers.
Similarly, the Eastern Band of
Cherokee chose a closed dump site
with which the community was
already familiar. The tribe already
owned the land, and the site was
large enough for recycling and com-
posting operations. Overall the site
is a success, but because the tribe
used existing onsite roads to keep
costs down, the area experiences
occasional traffic bottlenecks. In
retrospect, Calvin Murphy, the
tribe's executive director of tribal
utilities, recommends performing an
engineering study of a site before
beginning construction, with an
emphasis on studying traffic flow
patterns within the facility and on
surrounding roads.
The Jicarilla Apache Nation estab-
lished a list of "essential siting crite-
ria" before beginning its site search.
One of the main criteria was that
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TRIBAL WASTE JOURNAL
the site be accessible by a paved
road. Using this list as a guide, the
tribe identified a 6-acre section of
land previously designated for
landfill use by the tribal
council.
The Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation,
likewise, considered
relevant social, eco-
nomic, and environmen-
tal factors during its site
selection process. These factors
helped rule out one potential site
that was ideal in many ways, but
was located in a flood plain.
Weighing all the relevant factors,
the tribes selected and purchased a
private piece of land adjacent to the
reservation near a major interstate.
The Tule River Indian Tribe found
that it had to locate its transfer sta-
tion in the middle of the communi-
ty and near the river due to limited
land availability. To minimize the
site's negative visual impact, the
tribe installed fencing along the
perimeter and instituted several
measures to prevent runoff into the
river. The tribe found that selecting
a specific site sometimes requires
special engineering designs or opera-
tional practices.
Designing Your Facility
When designing a transfer station,
tribes recommend focusing on two
major considerations: size and spe-
cific needs or conditions. Arguably
the most important design decision
is determining the size of your trans-
fer station. Calvin Murphy advo-
cates designing your transfer station
to meet your tribe's needs now and
10 years into the future. When the
Eastern Band of Cherokee designed
its facility, it knew it had to build a
facility that could handle the waste
from its 3,000 homes and 400 busi-
nesses, in addition to waste from its
planned gaming facility.
The Confederated Tribes of
Umatilla also sized its facility to
meet future needs. Its 7-acre site is
large enough to house a 7,200
square foot, multi-level, 200
tons-per-week capacity
transfer station and still
has enough space for a
proposed 75 foot by 100
foot building to collect,
sort, and bale recyclables
and a large scale compost-
ing operation.
Mr. Murphy cautions tribes against
building a transfer station with the
expectation of accepting off-reserva-
tion waste for a profit. "There is no
guarantee you will ever see a return
of your investment," he cautions.
"Build a transfer station to handle
your tribe's waste. If you are able to
accept others' waste and generate
some revenue, then that is an added
bonus. Just don't count on it."
Front view of the waste unloading area
at the Tule River transfer station.
It is also important to determine if
your transfer station will require a
special design to address specific
demands or conditions. Weather and
climate are two conditions that must
be planned for in advance. Knowing
how your hauler is going to charge
you is another element to factor into
decisions. Merlin Tafoya, Sr., of the
Jicarilla Apache Nation, for exam-
ple, knew that he wanted an
enclosed and heated transfer station
because of the long harsh winters on
the reservation. He also knew he
wanted a compactor unit to maxi-
mize outgoing waste loads, since the
tribe's hauler charges by the truck
load rather than per ton. "Know
your tribe's situation, location, and
region, and your goals," he said.
The Onondaga Nation and the St.
Regis Mohawk Tribe, both located
in upstate New York, are also famil-
iar with long cold winters. To cope
with freezing conditions, the
Onondaga Nation built a shelter for
station employees and one for the
hydraulic pump that drives its com-
pactor. The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe
chose to use a modular, self-con-
tained unit that is weather-, leak-,
fire-, and animal-proof.
Preventing illegal dumping, keeping
out animals such as dogs and bears,
and controlling litter are several
additional challenges that many
transfer stations face. The Tule
River Indian Tribe learned from past
experience with roll-off bin sites
that a fence was essential for all of
these issues. Prior to building its
transfer station, the tribe used a
Side view of the paved ramp providing
access for vehicles removing and
replacing full roll-off containers.
series of roll-off containers for waste
disposal that were not fenced, and
scavenging dogs and illegal dumpers
quickly made the sites a mess. The
tribe also learned that placing roll-
offs on the ground made disposal of
large and heavy items difficult. To
rectify these errors, the tribe select-
ed a transfer station design that
incorporated roll-off bins set below
ground level in an excavated area.
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TRIBAL WASTE JOURNAL
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' enclosed
transfer station building.
With this configuration, customers
simply back up to the edge of the
bins and drop their waste in.
Building Your
Transfer Station
There are several different
approaches to building your transfer
station. Some tribes allow a federal
agency—frequently the IHS—to
build the facility for them and
assume operational control once
construction is complete. Many
tribes use federal grants or loans to
build the facility themselves or pay
an independent contractor. A few
independent tribes, such as the
Onondaga Nation, pay for and build
their facilities completely on their
own. You will need to decide which
option is best for your tribe in terms
of economic and technical feasibili-
ty and sovereignty concerns. The
examples that follow highlight a few
of these trade-
offs.
Building your
transfer station
yourself or hir-
ing a private
company gives
you the most
control over
the construc-
tion process.
Taking this
approach also
allows you to
include specific
requirements in
the contract to satisfy tribal needs
and policies. The Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation, for example, used sev-
eral federal grants and loans, one
private grant, and $200,000 of its
own money to hire a private con-
struction company to build its trans-
fer station. The tribes used a
competitive bidding process to
select a contractor. As part of the
contract, the tribes required the
contractor to hire local Native
American workers to the greatest
extent possible. If the contractor
could not fill its needs locally, it was
required to attempt to hire individu-
als from other tribes.
When hiring a contractor, Bonnie
Burke, the Umatilla's solid waste
manager, recommends using local
contractors and subcontractors
whenever possible. She had difficul-
ty getting a few non-local subcon-
tractors to come back and repair
equipment or correct problems. Ms.
Burke also recommends double-
checking the warranty dates on
facility equipment and structures,
especially if the tribe encounters
construction delays, and suggests
extending warranties when possible.
Building the facility yourself gives
you more control over its outcome,
but accepting money from the feder-
al government can mean following
certain restrictions as well. While
Ms. Burke appreciated the money
her tribes received from the federal
government, she commented that
the agency was somewhat inflexible
in terms of how the tribes could
spend their funds. When delays and
unexpected costs came up, as they
almost inevitably do on construc-
tion projects, it was difficult to
cover new costs with grant money
that was designated for a specific
purpose.
"Know your tribe's situa-
tion, location, and region,
and your goals."
-Merlin Tafoya, Sr.,
Jicarilla Apache Nation
Contractor bonding is another con-
cern when using federal funds to
hire a private construction compa-
ny. Most federal grant and loan pro-
grams require contractors to secure
performance and payment bonds
and a fidelity bond. After the St.
Regis Mohawk Tribe selected a con-
tractor to build its transfer station,
for example, the contractor was
unable to meet the required bond-
ing requirements within the allotted
10 day period. Consequently, the
contract was voided, and the tribe
had to initiate the bidding process
again.
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TRIBAL WASTE JOURNAL
TRANSFER STATION
SNAPSHOTS
Assiniboine and Sioux Nations
of the Fort Peck Reservation
Northeastern Montana
Capacity: Four sites with single 40 yd3
roll-off bin, one site with three 40 yd3 roll-
off bins
Population served: 10,300
Hours of operation: Four unfenced sites-
open 24 hours, one fenced site—open
daylight hours
User fees: Residential customers—$15 per
month, businesses and contractors—$300
Types of waste accepted: All household
Cost: $20,000 each for two HUD CDBG
funded sites, $40,000 each for the three
IMS SDS funded sites
Design: Five roll-off sites across reservation;
one site has three bins, concrete pad, and
headwall; three sites have one bin and a
concrete headwall; one site has iust a bin
Onondaga Nation
Ned row, New York
Capacity: One bin tor waste (emptied at
least once a week), one bin for recyclables
Population served: 600
Hours of operation: 7 days a week, 24
hours a day
User fees: Free to tribal members
Types of waste accepted: Household trash,
recyclables (paper, glass, plastic, cardboard),
car batteries, household hazardous waste
Cost: Not available
Design: Open facility, fenced and gated, con-
crete surface with two roll-off bins and waste
compactor, shelter for staff and generator
St. Regis Mohawk Tribe
Akwesasne, New York
self-contained modular units for
recyclables
Population served: 2,000
Hours of operation: To be determined
User fees: Pay-as-you-throw on a per bag
basis, recycling is free
Types of waste accepted: Household
trash, recyclables (paper, cardboard, glass,
Cost: Not available
Design: Open facility, fenced and gated,
paved road and tipping area, scale located
at entrance, building housing scale equip-
ment, baler, and administrative operations,
composting bathroom (no running water)
Tule River Indian Tribe
Tulare County, California
Capacity: Two 30 yd3 roll-off boxes
(emptied twice per week); three tipping
bins and three storage bins for recyclables;
equipment storage shed; running water
Population served: 800
Hours of operation: Monday - Saturday,
during daylight hours
User fees: Free to tribal and community
members and businesses
Types of waste accepted: Household trash,
white goods, tires, recyclables (office
paper, glass, cardboard, plastic)
Cost: $141,000 ($45,000 from IHS and
$96,000 from HUD)
Design: Open facility, fenced and gated,
paved surface, two waste bins set down in
an excavated area
Jicarilla Apache Nation
Dulce, New Mexico
Capacity: Two 53 yd3 self-contained
modular units for waste, four 6 vd3
Capacity: 12 to 16 tons per day (three to
four 42 yd3 bins/day)
Population served: 5,000
Hours of operation: Monday - Friday,
8 AM to 5 PM (to 6 PM during the summer)
User fees: Free to tribal residents
Types of waste accepted: Household trash,
yard trimmings (branches < 3 in. in diame-
ter), bulky items, white goods, tires,
car batteries, household hazardous waste
Cost: $900,000 ($500,000 from the
Jicarilla, $400,000 from IHS)
Design: Totally enclosed building, two-
level building (SO1 x 75'), hopper posi-
tioned above compactor which compacts
waste into enclosed 42 vd3 on lower level
Confederated Tribes of the
Indian Reservation
Pendleton, Oregon
Capacity: 200 tons per day
Population served: 2,500
Hours of operation: 7 days a week,
7:30 AM to 5:30 PM (5/1 through 8/31),
7:30 AM to 4:30 PM (9/1 through 4/30)
User fees: Pay-as-you-throw on a per
Types of waste accepted: Household trash,
tires, car batteries, household hazardous
waste
Cost: $1.3 million
Design: Totally enclosed, two-level, metal
building (7,200 ft2) with four bay doors,
concrete tipping floor, backhoe loads and
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
Cherokee, North Carolina
Capacity: 300 tons per day
Population served: 6,300
Hours of operation: Sunday - Saturday
during summer, closed on holidays
User fees: Free to tribal residents, neighbor-
ing county and businesses pay tipping fee
Types of waste accepted: Household
clables, white goods
Cost: Not available
Design: Totally enclosed, two-level building
with tipping floor, front-end loader loads
and compacts waste in transfer trailer
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TRIBAL WASTE JOURNAL
Sustaining Your Vision: Operation and Maintenance
After the construction phase, focus shifts to operation and maintenance. This involves finding ways to
cover equipment maintenance expenses, transportation costs, landfill tipping fees, transfer station
staffing, and employee training. The tribes we interviewed quickly discovered that federal grants cannot
be used for these purposes. Instead, the tribes relied on a variety of mechanisms, including:
• User fees such as a flat service fee or a pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) program
• Tribal general funds
• Revenue from the sale of recyclables
• Tipping fees from non-tribal/off-reservation waste
In addition to funding, the tribes cited educated and skilled staff and waste screening programs as keys to ensur-
ing that their transfer stations ran smoothly. The Fort Peck tribes even established a Public Works Committee to
help it make quick decisions and improve curbside collection and roll-off program management. The following
examples demonstrate how tribes have sustained their transfer stations and increased operational efficiency.
Paying for Operation
and Maintenance
User Fees
The tribes that we inter-
viewed used several dif-
ferent types of user fees.
Some charged a month-
ly service fee while oth-
ers used a PAYT
approach.
The Assiniboine and
Sioux Nations of Fort Peck
decided to charge community mem-
bers $15 per month to dispose of
trash, regardless of the amount gen-
erated. A financial technician, hired
by the Fort Peck tribes to help make
their solid waste disposal program
more self-sufficient, however,
advised the tribes to institute a
PAYT program in place of the flat
disposal fees. Now the tribes plan to
charge roll-off site users $15 per
load rather than per month.
Instead of a flat fee, the St. Regis
Mohawk Tribe chose to charge resi-
dents based on the volume of waste
generated to encourage waste pre-
vention and recycling. The St. Regis
Mohawk Tribe's PAYT system
rewards residents for generating less
waste. To participate in PAYT, resi-
dents purchase blue, 30-gallon
trash bags from the tribe for
their garbage. The tribe's
curbside collection vehi-
cle picks up the special
bags once a week.
Once the tribe's trans-
fer station is opera-
tional, residents can opt
out of purchasing the blue
trash bags and bring their
waste directly to the transfer station.
They will be assessed a disposal fee
based on the weight of their trash.
General Fund
Jicarilla Apache Nation decided to
use money from the tribal general
fund to subsidize collection and dis-
posal costs to provide free, weekly
residential waste collection to all
tribal members. Residents also have
the option of bringing their waste
directly to the transfer station,
where it is accepted for free. By pro-
viding free waste disposal service,
the tribe increased community par-
ticipation and discouraged illegal
dumping.
The Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation use
money from the tribal general fund
to supplement solid waste service
user fees. The tribes operate a casi-
no and allocate a portion of the rev-
enue to transfer station operation
and maintenance. Similarly, the St.
UP 5
OPERATION
MAINTENANCE
• Consider a variety of funding
mechanisms to pay for opera-
tion and maintenance.
• Train your staff to improve
operational efficiency.
• Screen all incoming waste to
remove recyclables and inap-
propriate materials.
• Remove and manage special
waste (e.g., tires, white goods,
car batteries) separately.
• Properly maintain equipment
to prolong life and prevent
breakdown.
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TRIBAL WASTE JOURNAL
WASTE WATCHING: SCREENING FOR INAPPROPRIATE MATERIALS
Tribes can factor special wastes into transfer station operation and maintenance activities. At the Eastern Band of
Cherokee Indians' transfer station, trucks dump their loads onto a tipping floor and tribal employees examine
the waste. They pull out items that do not belong, including tires, car batteries, and freon canisters. Jicarilla
Apache Nation, Onondaga Nation, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation employ simi-
lar waste screening practices.
In addition to training waste "spotters," tribes can keep inappropriate items out of municipal solid waste by
establishing affordable and accessible disposal alternatives for special wastes. Members of the Tule River Indian
Tribe can bring white goods and old tires to a site adjacent to the tribal transfer station. To minimize the health
risks associated with storing these items (e.g., refrigerators contain freon, old tires serve as a breeding ground for
mosquitoes), the tribe pays for a private contractor to remove them at least once every 6 weeks. The contractor
is responsible for recovering hazardous materials and freon from the white goods before hauling them away.
The Onondaga Nation decided to make household hazardous waste (HHW) disposal a priority. The tribe hosts
HHW collection events twice a year to educate the community about proper disposal practices. In addition, the
tribe provides public access to a HHW collection compartment at the transfer station. Tribal members can bring
their HHW to the transfer station 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. The transfer station also includes a storage
container for car batteries.
Regis Mohawk Tribe uses its general
fund to supplement revenue from its
PAYT program. Part of the tribal
general fund comes from a fee on
cigarette and gasoline sales on the
reservation.
Bonnie Burke, the Umatilla Indian
Reservation's solid waste manager,
however, cautions tribal solid waste
departments about relying on casino
revenues and the tribal general
fund. She explains, "The casino
generates revenue, but much of the
money is used for education and
other purposes. Historically, the
tribes did not place a high priority
on solid waste management."
Sale of Recyclables
A few tribes have found markets for
some recyclables and use the rev-
enue from these sales to help cover
transfer station operation and main-
tenance costs. The Eastern Band of
Cherokee Indians discovered that
cardboard recycling is lucrative near
the reservation. The tribe sells card-
board to support other, less prof-
itable recycling activities. Markets
for recyclable materials vary with
location. Jicarilla Apache Nation,
located in a remote region of New
Mexico, implemented a recycling
program and found that transporta-
tion costs added up quickly because
the nearest recycling facility is far
away from the reservation. The
tribe could
not justify
these costs
and aban-
doned its
recycling
program.
Many tribes
separate
recyclable
materials to
minimize
disposal
costs.
Although
recyclers charge a processing fee for
some materials, the fee is usually
lower than landfill tipping fees. The
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation use this strategy
to reduce disposal costs.
Waste loading inside the Eastern Band of
Cherokees' transfer station.
Tipping Fees from Non-Tribal Waste
The Eastern Band of Cherokee
Indians and the Confederated Tribes
of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
accept waste from off the reserva-
tion for a fee. Accepting waste from
surrounding communities can be a
lucrative busi-
ness under the
right conditions.
Calvin Murphy
of the Eastern
Band of
Cherokee
Indians cautions
against entering
this business
without careful
consideration
and feasibility
analyses. He sug-
gests that tribes
size their transfer stations to handle
their own waste, not other counties'
waste. His tribe solicited business
from off of the reservation after
building the transfer station and
determining it had excess capacity,
rather than counting on it during
the planning phase.
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TRIBAL WASTE JOURNAL
Skilled Staff Augment Success
The Eastern Band of Cherokee own
and operate a large, complex trans-
fer station that utilizes scales and a
tipping floor. The tribe recognized
the need for skilled staff to operate
and maintain this technologically
advanced facility. Several of the
tribe's scale operators completed the
North Carolina Department of
Agriculture's certification program
for weigh masters and seven transfer
station employees took a class
offered by the Solid Waste
Association of North America
(SWANA) to become certified
transfer station managers.
Calvin Murphy recommends this
course to employees of large transfer
stations. Having state certified
transfer station managers gave the
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
credibility when working with coun-
ties and private haulers.
"Tribal leaders must realize
that some needs cannot be
met through grants."
-Deb Madison, environmental
program manager for the
Fort Peck Reservation
Jicarilla Apache Nation also under-
stands the importance of employee
education. The tribe pays a private
contractor to haul its waste to a pri-
vate landfill. Landfill employees
inspect the waste for inappropriate
materials and turn shipments away
if they are contaminated. To avoid
refused shipments, the contractor
trains tribal employees to inspect
waste and separate out inappropri-
ate materials at the transfer station.
To date, the landfill has never
refused a shipment from the
Jicarilla Apache Nation.
The Fort Peck tribes hired a
financial technician to control
roll-off site costs. The tribes
pay two counties for use of
their landfills. The financial
technician reviewed the
tribes' contracts with the
counties and developed strict
accounting procedures that
save money. She also suggest-
ed that the tribes manage con-
struction and demolition
(C&D) debris separately to
reduce their disposal costs.
Tipping fees at C&D landfills
are lower than those at
municipal solid waste landfills.
For a fee, Fort Peck
Operations and Maintenance
Department staff deliver
dumpsters to construction
sites. When the dumpsters are
full, department staff hauls
them to a C&D landfill.
The Onondaga Nation initial-
ly trusted community mem-
bers to use its transfer station
without supervision. Illegal
dumping by residents from the
surrounding counties who
were trying to avoid paying
tipping fees in their own
towns, however, forced the
nation to staff the facility 24
hours a day, 7 days a week.
In addition to monitoring
incoming vehicles, the atten-
dants help users place recycla-
ble materials in the correct
roll-off bin and household
hazardous waste in the auxil-
iary storage cabinet.
Periodically, the attendants
check the roll-off bins and
remove tires and other unac-
ceptable materials to keep
contamination to a minimum.
FORT PECK'S PUBLIC
WORKS COMMITTEE
BOARD
Prior to creating the Public
Works Committee Board, only
the Fort Peck Tribal Council had
the authority to change curbside
collection fees and roll-off site
permit rates, adjust collection
procedures, and approve external
funding applications. To speed
up the decision-making process,
Ms. Madison suggested that
the tribal council establish a
Public Works Committee Board
to manage the Operation and
Maintenance Department.
'The board is critical
because it sets curbside
collection and roll-off site
permit rates, applies to
organizations for fund-
ing, and provides an
interface between O&M
and the tribal council."
-Deb Madison,
Fort Peck Environmental
Program Manager
The board removes the burden
of solid waste management deci-
sions from the tribal council and
is able to make quick decisions.
In return for being entrusted with
decision-making powers, board
members maintain a positive rela-
tionship with tribal council mem-
bers by keeping them informed
about collection and roll-off site
operations.
-------
TRIBAL WASTE JOURNAL
RESOURCES
I f
opies of most of the following publications can be obtained at no charge by calling the EPA RCRA/UST,
Superfund, and EPCRA Hotline at 800 424-9346 or 703 412 9810 in the Washington, DC metropolitan
area. You will need to provide the document number for the publication(s) you wish to order.
TECHNICAL
GUIDANCE AND
TRAINING
Publications
Waste Transfer Stations:
A Manual for Decision-Making
(EPA530-R-02-002)
Waste Transfer Stations: Involved
Citizens Make a Difference
(EPA530-K-01-003)
Decision-Maker's Guide to Solid
Waste Management, Second Edition
(EPA530-R-95-023)
Tribal Solid Waste Management
Decision-Maker's Guide
(expected from EPA in 2003)
Sites for Our Solid Waste: A
Guidebook for Effective Public
Involvement (EPA530-SW-90-019)
Training and Technical Assistance
Directory for Tribal Solid Waste
Managers (EPA530-B-99-007)
St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Solid Waste
Handbook
NEPA: A Handbook for Tribal Staff
(for a free copy contact Inter Tribal
Council of Arizona at 602 258-4822)
Links
Institute for Tribal Environmental
Professionals (ITEP) and Northern
Arizona University Solid Waste
Training for Alaskan Native Villages
Solid Waste Association of North
America's (SWANA) collection and
transfer training courses
FUNDING
Publications
Grant Resources for Solid Waste
Activities in Indian Country
(EPA530-R-98-014)
Solid Waste Funding: A Guide to
Federal Assistance (EPA530-F-97-027)
Preparing Successful Grant
Proposals tip sheet (EPA530-F-97-020)
St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Solid Waste
Handbook
Links
U.S. EPA Tribal MSW Funding page
U.S. EPA's Grant Writing Tutorial
U.S. EPA American Indian
Environmental Office (AIEO)
General Assistance Program (GAP)
Grants
U.S. EPA Brownfields Assessment,
Revolving Loan Fund, and Cleanup
Grants
U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services' Administration
for Native Americans (ANA)
USDA Rural
Development's Rural
Utilities Service (RUS)
Water and
Environmental
Programs (WEP)
U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD)
Community Development Block
Grants (CDBG)
The Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance
Th/s ;s a database of a// federal ass/stance
programs—including grant and loan pro-
grams—available to state, local, and tribal
governments.
TASWER's 10 Pots of Money
< w w w. ta s we r. o rg>
Federal Register search page
Rural Community Assistance
Program (RCAP)
RCAP is a national network of water, waste-
water, and solid waste professionals that
provide onsite managerial, technical, and
financial assistance to develop rural com-
munity infrastructure. It is comprised of six
regional affiliates. For more information,
contact Christine McCoy, director of envi-
ronmental programs at 800 321-2772 or
202 408-1273, ext. 104; or via email at
cmccoy@rcap.org.
-------
TRIBAL WASTE JOURNAL
CONTACTS
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Ihe Tribal Waste Journal would like to thank everyone who shared transfer station and funding information
for this issue. Interviewee contact information is provided below for those who are interested in learning
more about specific tribes' programs.
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla
Indian Reservation
Pendleton, Oregon
Bonnie Burke, Solid Waste Manager,
541 276-4040, terfmngr@uci.net or
Teddi Bronson, Recycling Coordinator,
541 276-4040, trecycle@uci.net
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
Cherokee, North Carolina
Calvin Murphy, Tribal Utilities,
828497-1805,
cmurphy@cherokee-nc.com
Assiniboine and Sioux Nations
of the Fort Peck Reservation
Poplar, Montana
Deb Madison, Environmental Program
Manager, Environmental Protection
Office, 406 768-5155 ext. 399,
2horses@nemontel.net
Jicarilla Apache Nation
Dulce, New Mexico
Merlin Tafoya, Sr., Executive Director
of Public Works Division,
Jicarilla Apache Nation,
505 759-3242 ext. 295
Onondaga Nation
Nedrow, New York
Chief Irving Powless, Jr.,
315 492-4210, Nosneaks2@aol.com,
or Jeanne Shenandoah, 315 492-1440
Oglala Sioux Tribe of the
Pine Ridge Reservation
Pine Ridge, South Dakota
Kim Clausen-Jensen, Director,
Oglala Sioux Environmental
Protection Program, 605 867-5236,
ostepkim@gwtc.net, or
Bobby Sullivan, Public Involvement
Coordinator, 605 867-5236,
ostepbob@gwtc.net
Recycling bins at Umatilla
transfer station
St. Regis Mohawk Tribe
Akwesasne, New York
Laura Weber, Director of Solid Waste
Management, 518 358-5937,
earth2-lauraweb@northnet.org
Tule River Indian Tribe
Tulare County, California
Kerri Vera, Environmental
Program Manager for Tule River
Indian Tribe, 559 781-4271,
tuleriverenv@govisalia.com
USDA Rural Development
Rapid City, South Dakota
Mavis Mass, Rural Development
Specialist, 605 342-0301 ext. 4,
mavis.hass@sd.usda.gov
Scrap metal recycling pile out-
side Eastern Band of Cherokee
Indians' transfer station
Modular units to be used at St. Regis
transfer station
To be placed on our mailing list or submit ideas or success stories, send an e-mail to Janice Johnson,
U.S. EPA Tribal Solid Waste Program at .
-------
OF THE EPA TRIBAL WASTE JOURNAL
Microbe
Adventure
Laura Weber shares her enthusi-
asm about the science behind
waste decomposition through
stories and experiments. She tells
a story about microbes to teach
students about decomposition.
Microbes are living organisms,
and some of them break down
waste. As Ms. Weber explains
the decomposition process, she
asks her audience to identify
which statements are true and
which are false. For example,
when she says, "Garbage con-
tains microbes," the children
agree, but when she says,
"Microbes leap out of the
garbage at night," they disagree.
This interactive
format enter-
tains students
and keeps them
engaged.
Ms. Weber uses
experiments to
reinforce the decomposition
message. According to Ms.
Weber, "One of the exciting
things about trash is that there
is so much science involved in
decomposition. It is fun to
conduct experiments to show
students that different objects
degrade at different rates." At
the beginning of the school year,
"Garbage is fun because it is always
changing. You can tell a lot about
someone's behavior and lifestyle
from their trash. When people leave
bags of trash by the side of the
road, their trash tells a story."
-Laura Weber, director of solid waste
management for the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe
teachers can place soil in an
aquarium, add water, and bury
items in the soil to simulate a
landfill. During the school
year, students can watch the
items decompose and use
their observations to draw
conclusions about how
biodegradable different
materials are.
GARBAGE MONSTERS
Teddi Bronson, recycling coordinator for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation,
believes that environmental education should be fun. When the tribes opened a recycling depot and
transfer station, she expanded the environmental education program to promote recycling and proper
solid waste disposal.
Ms. Bronson visits the tribal Head Start facility and daycare center to familiarize children with the new
recycling and waste disposal options. She tells stories about the time when tribal members used to dump
their waste in a landfill on the reservation and explains how waste management
practices have changed over the years. Then, she distributes recycling coloring
books, nature stickers, and frisbees with the phone number and address of the
recycling depot. The presentation culminates with an illegal dumping and litter
prevention activity. The children create "garbage monsters" out of paper shop-
ping bags. They draw a monster's face on each bag and then use the bags to
pick up litter outside. The monsters literally eat garbage!
Ms. Bronson plans to integrate her solid waste management message into
curricula across the school system. She would also like to provide transfer
station tours to older students.
MARCH 2003
-------
Ursaous
UdVCTCU
landfill
A landfill lesson is brain food for
young minds when teachers use
cookies and ice cream to symbolize
clay liners and leachate. During the
"luscious layered landfill" lesson, stu-
dents place different treats in clear,
plastic cups to learn how to build
landfills. Each treat represents a dif-
ferent landfill layer—near the bot-
tom, crushed cookies symbolize the
soil underneath the landfill, and
cookie pieces symbolize the clay
liner that absorbs leachate escaping
from the plastic liner. A fruit roll-up
represents the plastic liner, crushed
graham crackers the sand layer, and
raisins the pebble layer. Licorice
sticks, or leachate pipes, complete
the leachate containment and col-
lection system. Teachers can explain
that this system prevents waste from
contaminating water supplies.
Ice-cream and hard candies rest on
top of the raisins, symbolizing
leachate and garbage. Students then
place crushed cookies (soil) on top.
Teachers can explain that, at the
end of each day, landfill operators
cover waste with soil to minimize
problems with vermin. Finally, stu-
dents cap their tasty landfills with
whip cream. They can insert a small
candle to symbolize a methane gas
recovery system. For additional
information about this activity, visit
, or order a
free copy of The Quest for Less:
Activities and Resources for Teaching
K-6 (EPA530-R-00-008) from EPA's
RCRA/UST, Superfund and EPCRA
Hotline at 800 424-9346 or
703 412-9810.
Methane gas recovery system (candle): recovers gas
for energy from decomposing garbage
Landfill cap (whipped cream): prevents odor, insect, and
rodent problems
Soil layer (cookie pieces): used to cover daily garbage
Leachate (ice cream): natural byproduct of decomposing garbage
Garbage (candies): added daily from communities
Pebble layer (raisins): prevents liquid from seeping out
Leachate pipe (licorice stick): collects leachate
Sand layer (graham crackers): prevents liquid from seeping out
Plastic liner (fruit rollup): prevents leachate from escaping into the ground
Clay layer (cookie pieces): absorbs any leachate (or liquid)
that escapes the plastic liner
Soil layer (crushed cookies): lines the bottom of the landfill
24 HOURS Wr
A TRASH
BAG
Thanks to Bol
Sullivan, publi
involvement
coordinator '
the Oglala
Sioux Tribe,
children living
on Pine Ridge
Reservation are excited
waste prevention. Ms. Sullivan
delivers interactive presentations
to educate 4th through 9th
graders about proper solid waste
management and involves them
in finding solutions to problems.
She shows pictures of open
dumps on the reservation,
describes the tribe's new landfill,
and asks the children to think of
landfill and prevent illegal dump-
ing. Student suggestions have
included creating trash police,
enforcing existing litter laws in
housing projects, and developing
awards for clean communities.
After a lively discussion about
illegal dumping prevention, Ms.
Sullivan captivates the students
with a new question, "Are you
interested in learning how much
trash a single person can gener-
ate in one day?" She asks each
child to carry a trash bag for 24
hours. During the study period,
the students bring their trash
bags everywhere and collect all
of the solid waste that they pro-
duce (excluding food and liquid
wastes). The next day, the chil-
dren bring their trash bags
back to class. They
are amazed that one
person can produce
co much waste!
Ms. Sullivan
ancludes the
~''vity with
vaste
jvention
linstorming
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