United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Solid Waste And
Emergency Response
(OS-340)
EPA/530-SW-90-079
Fall 1990
&EFA Native American Network
A RCRA Information Exchange
Welcome to Native
American Network
By Sylvia K. Lowrance
Director, Office of Solid Waste
Welcome to the first issue of Native American
Network!
Developing this publication presented us with a real
challenge. We know that you have very specific and unique
needs; we know that while you have a strong interest in
solid waste management issues, you still have a need to
know what's going on in other RCRA programs. We hope to
provide these needs in the Native American Network as
well as use it as a forum to exchange experiences and ideas
among Tribes and to enhance working relationships among
Tribal governments, EPA, other Federal agencies, and State
and local governments.
EPA places a high priority on establishing effective
information exchange with Tribal governments. It is our
hope that Native American Network will provide the
diverse array of information you need. We have already
added the Native Americans to our hazardous and solid
waste mailing lists. Also, we will routinely include Tribes
in our communications strategies, which means that you will
automatically receive environmental fact sheets and other
rulemaking notifications. If we don't have the information
you need, we'll tell you where you can obtain it.
Native American Network was designed to encourage
the exchange of information. Please tell us how we can use
it to inform and help you effectively implement RCRA on
Indian lands.
INSIDE OSW
Municipal Waste Wrap-Up:
The Solid Waste Dilemma: Solutions for
the '90s
The challenges posed by municipal solid waste are
national in scope, affecting all sectors of society. Some of
these challenges will require changes in our decision-
making processes and lifestyles; others require less radical
changes but need a firm commitment from all levels of
government, industry, and the public.
In February 1989, EPA published The Solid Waste
Dilemma: An Agenda for Action which established a
national goal of 25 percent source reduction and recycling
by 1992. This is not a goal for EPA alone; each of us has a
role in achieving it.
Recently, EPA distributed for review and comment a
draft of an update to the Agenda for Action, The Solid
Waste Dilemma: Solutions for the '90s. Among other
things, the update presents additional national goals and a
series of challenges for all sectors of society, including
Tribes, for meeting these goals.
HIGHLIGHTS IN THIS ISSUE:
Welcome to Native American Network
Citizen Suit Provisions
Hot Off the Hotline
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r Goal
Reduce per capita waste generation and reduce
toxicity.
Enhance markets for secondary materials.
Increase supply and quality of recovered material!
for secondary markets.
Ensure environmentally sound waste
management
Foster integrated solutions to solid waste
problems.
Instill an environmental ethic.
Challenge :
Each individual, government, business and
industry should reduce waste generation by 10
percent by the year 2000.
All levels of government should increase their
purchases of products containing recycled
materials; governments can promote the economic
development aspects of new markets for
secondary materials.
3 Achieve a national recycling goal of 40 percent
by 1996. . .
Governments should adopt and implement pro-
grams that aggressively ensure compliance with
the municipal solid waste landfill criteria.
Governments should start immediately to plan and
implement regional, integrated solutions.
Individuals, government, business and industry
should consider environmental impacts in daily
decisions.
EPA has already undertaken a number of activities, in
cooperation with Tribes, to enhance these themes and
promote progress in achieving these challenges. |
These activities include: [
—Developing a solid waste management plan and
ordinance for the Rincon Reservation; assisting the Tribe in
obtaining GS A surplus equipment; and providing technical
assistance and employee training.
—Assisting the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana
in developing a system that processes and converts waste
into a variety of products. The project also includes ^
training component which covers integrated waste
management, financing alternatives, and compliancejwith
Federal regulations.
—Assessing the existing solid waste management
practices on the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation,
evaluating alternatives, and recommending a solid waste
management system. i
i
—Funding interregional projects (EPA Regions VIII,
IX, and X) to provide assistance to Tribal governments in
their efforts to comply with the revised Federal criteria for
municipal solid waste landfills. The project also will
evaluate existing practices and recommend alternatives.
EPA will facilitate several model agreements to incorporate
Tribes as part of regional solid waste management
planning.
—Funding solid waste management training through
the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI).
In addition to the above activities which directly relate
to Tribes, EPA also has a number of projects which may
benefit or affect Tribes, which include:
—Publication of Profiles in Planning: State and
Tribal Strategies for Municipal Solid Waste
Management. This report summarizes a review of nine
current State plans and one current Tribal solid waste
management plan.
—Development of a planning framework that will
help identify the steps necessary to prepare a comprehen-
sive plan, evaluate management alternatives, and select
appropriate components for the plan.
—Publication of the Decision-Makers Guide to
Solid Waste Management (Volume 1).
—Participation in various workshops, such as the
integrated waste management workshop and the
procurement workshop.
—Promulgation of the revised municipal solid waste
" landfill criteria, which will be effective on Indian lands.
Various outreach efforts, such as brochures, training
workshops, and technical assistance, will be available to
support implementation of these criteria.
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Our years of working with the States
have shown us that we learn best from
others. More often than not, an issue that
surfaced in one."part of the country has
surfaced somewhere else, and someone
has already figured out ways to deal with
it. Sharing this information saves not only
valuable time and resources, but also
promotes environmental awareness
throughout the nation.
Although we want to ensure that you
know what's going on here in the Agency
and how the complex web of environ-
mental regulations affects you, we really
want to know what you are doing, what
problems you are facing, and how you are
dealing with them. The Native American
Network will be published as needed
in order to bring you the very latest
information we receive from you.
: We wantyou to be an integral
part of this environmental communi-
cation network. Solid waste manage-
ment is — and undoubtedly will
continue to be for many years — a
significant environmental issue on
Indian lands. Mastering the com-
plexity and dynamics of RCRA takes
time; but by taking advantage of
other people's knowledge, skills., and
experiences, we can often confront••'',
the issues faster and more efficiently.
While our focus is on RCRA issues,
we recognize that Native Americans
encounter many other environmentally
related problems. We will share
information on these issues as it
becomes available and when it pertains
specifically to Tribes.
So... will you join us? Together,
we can make the Native American
Network an important link in our ;
efforts to ensure —- in what I know is a
common goal— the protection of
human health and environment
throughput our land. We look forward
to hearing from you.
JudiKane
: OSW Indian Coordinator
-• • (202)382-5096
Office of Solid Waste
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
401 M Street SW
OS-340
Washington, D.C. 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
Printed on Recycled Paper
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—Development of a number of outreach projects,
including the Solid Waste Information Clearinghouse
(SWICH), designed to facilitate the sharing of information
on solid waste management throughout the country.
Contact: Lillian Bogus, OSWMunicipal Solid Waste
Program, (202) 245-4058
Subtitle C Update:
Hazardous Waste Regulation on Indian
Lands
While EPA is responsible for oversight and implemen-
tation of the RCRA hazardous waste management program
(Subtitle C) on Indian lands, Tribes may develop their own
programs and capabilities and are encouraged to do so.
Increased Tribal awareness and involvement in these
programs will enhance development of EPA's own program
priorities and implementation strategies.
Tribal concern about hazardous waste management is
increasing in response to the recent interest of industry in
siting hazardous waste incinerators and hazardous waste
landfills on reservations. This interest in siting on Indian
lands may be a direct response to the difficulties industry is
facing in meeting hazardous waste management
requirements which are more stringent than the current
Federal standards applicable to Indian lands. Public
opposition to siting (the Not in My Backyard or NIMBY
syndrome) has also stopped these projects.
Recently, EPA Assistant Administrator Don Clay,
working with Region V, decided to initiate a pilot project •
with the Menominee Indians in Wisconsin that would result
in authorizing the Tribe as a State so that it may implement
the hazardous waste program. The Agency is committed to
clarifying the "treatment as a State" provision under RCRA
and will be working with Congress on this issue. Addition-
ally, OSW is developing regulations to meet this goal.
OSW recently held a rulemaking workgroup meeting in
Denver, in which several EPA Regional Indian Coordinators
and Tribal representatives participated.
EPA realizes, though, that treatment as a State and
delegation of the RCRA hazardous waste program may be
beyond a Tribe's requirements and resources. We are
encouraging the use of Memoranda of Agreement and
Cooperative Agreements between the Tribes and the
Regional Offices and cooperating States. Some Tribes (for
example, the Menominee and the Puyallup Tribes in
Washington) have already begun to develop their own
hazardous waste programs and their capability to run those
programs under such agreements. We are also actively
searching for creative and alternative ways to provide for
Tribal participation in the hazardous waste programs and
welcome any suggestions you may have.
Contact: Karen Morley, OSW State Programs Branch,
(202)382-2210
AROUND THE REGIONS
The Role of the Regional Indian
Coordinator
Each EPA Regional Office, which has Federally
recognized Indian Tribes within its geographic area of
responsibility, has an identified staff member who functions
as the Region's Indian Coordinator. The Indian Coordinator
is the Regional Administrator's designated representative/
spokesperson on EPA's Indian Program.
For Tribes unfamiliar with EPA programs or having
difficulty working through the bureaucracy of a Federal
agency, the Regional Indian Coordinator is the "doorway
into EPA" and a means of understanding the complex web
of the Federal environmental programs and their impact on
Tribal lands.
A Coordinator's responsibilities include:
• Participating in the National Indian workgroup.
This workgroup was originally formed to identify
impediments to working directly with Tribes on
reservation problems; assist in developing guidance
for overcoming such impediments; recommend
appropriate programs or pilot projects; and perform
other services in support of Agency managers in
implementing the Indian Policy. This group
consists of Indian Coordinators from each of the
Regional Offices and EPA Headquarters staff
(Office of Federal Activities, Office of General
Counsel, as well as each media program office). It
meets twice annually and holds conference calls
twice a month to share information regarding the
Agency's Indian Program;
• Coordinating with Regional program staff on
environmental issues affecting Tribal lands;
• Providing guidance and assistance regarding the
Indian Program in general and information on the
Tribal groups located within the Region;
Ensuring that Regional activities and decisions
affecting Tribes/Tribal lands are conducted in a
manner consistent with the EPA Indian Policy;
Coordinating EPA activities with other Federal
agencies with responsibilities for working with
Tribes (i.e., Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Indian
Health Service (IHS), and Housing and Urban
Development (HUD));
• Representing the Region with regard to policy and
program responsibilities on Indian lands with
internal and external parties and groups;
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Native American Network
A RCRA Information Exchange
INFORMATION RESOURCES
HOTLINES: Provide information to the public in inter-
preting regulations and policies. Operates during normal
business hours (Eastern Standard Time).
RCRA/CERCLA: (800)424-9346
Emergency Planning & Community Right-To-Know:
(800)535-0202
Drinking Water: (800)426-4791
Toxics & Asbestos: (202)554-1404
Pesticides: (703)557-7090
Asbestos & Small Business Ombudsman: (800)368-5888
Radon: (202)475-8470
DOCKETS: Maintain legal rulemaking files, including
background documents and public comments.
Clean Air Act: (202)382-7548
Safe Drinking Water Act: (202)382-3027
Toxic Substances Control Act: (202)382-3587
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act:
(202)557-2805
INFORMATION CENTERS: In addition to docket
services, the RCRA and Superfund Information Centers
provide publications upon request.
RCRA Information Center: (202)475-9327
Superfund Docket and Information Center: (202)382-3046
Public Information Center: Maintains a broad spectrum
of EPA program publications. (202)382-2080.
National Response Center: Emergency hotline for
reporting chemical and oil spills.
(800)424-8802; (202)426-2675
PEOPLE YOU SHOULD KNOW/HEADQUARTERS:
National Indian Coordinator:
Martin Topper, (202)475-8793
Office of Federal Activities Contact:
Bill Wilcox, (202)382-5070
OSWER Indian Coordinator:
Jose Acevedo, (202)382-4510
OSW Indian Coordinator:
Judi Kane, (202)382-2229
RCRA Enforcement Contact:
Ellen Kandell, (202)475-9315
OSWER Training Coordinator:
Ed Gray, (202)382-4369
OROSLR Coordinator:
Janice Berry-Chen, (202) 245-3870
REGIONAL INDIAN COORDINATORS:
EPA Region I
Anne Fenn
JFK Federal Building
Boston, MA 02203
(617)565-3395 FTS 8-835-3395
EPA Region H
Robert Hargrove
26 Federal Plaza
New York, NY 10278
(212)264-1892 FTS 8-264-1892
EPA Region IV
Arthur Linton
345 Courtland Street NE
Atlanta, GA 30365
(404)881-3776 FTS 8-257-3776
EPA Region V
Casey Ambutas
230 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, IL 60604
(312)353-1394 FTS 8-353-1394
EPA Region VI
Ernest Woods
(214)655-2260 FTS 8-255-2260
EPA Region VII
Michael Bronowski
762 Minnesota Avenue
Kansas City, KS 66101
(913)551-7291 FTS 8-757-2800
EPA Region VIII
Sadie Hoskie
999 18th Street
Denver, CO 80202
(303)330-1114 FTS 8-330-1114
EPA Region IX
Roccena Lawatch
75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415)744-1602 FTS 8-484-1602
EPA Region X
Steve Roy
1200 Sixth Avenue
Seattle, WA 98101
(206)442-2118 FTS 8-399-2118
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REFERENCE MATERIALS
A Catalog of Hazardous and Solid Waste Publi-
cations
Describes most frequently requested documents and where
they arc available. EPA/530-SW-90-052.
Catalog of Superfund Program Publications
Describes the most recent policy, procedural and technical
documents. EPA/540-8-89-008.
Solid Waste Dilemma: An Agenda for Action
The final report of the Municipal Solid Waste Task Force
which was created in 1988 in response to the need for
national leadership in facing solid waste management
challenges. OSW/530-SW-89-019.
Decision-Maker's Guide to Solid Waste Man-
agement (Volume 1)
A guidebook designed to help local and State decision-
makers understand and evaluate their current waste man-
agement problems. EPA/530-SW-89-072.
Recycling Works!
A booklet describing 14 successful State and local recy-
cling programs in the United States. EPA/530-SW-89-014.
Recycle
A concise citizen's brochure on recycling and its role in
solid waste management. EPA/530-SW-88-050.
Methods to Manage and Control Plastic
Wastes-Executive Summary
An overview of a report exploring the environmental,
technical, and policy issues related to plastic waste
disposal. EPA/530-SW-89-051A.
America's War on Waste
An environmental fact sheet describing EPA's completed
publications, current activities, and future activities related
to municipal solid waste management. EPA/530-S W-90-
002.
Sites for Our Solid Waste: A Guidebook for
Effective Public Involvement
A guidebook for developing a municipal solid waste facility
siting strategy that involves the community. EPA/530-S W-
90-019.
Bibliography of Municipal Solid Waste Manage-
ment Alternatives
A listing of approximately 200 publications available from
industry, government, and environmental groups. EPA/530-
SW-89-055.
Household Hazardous Waste
A bibliography of useful references and list of State experts.
EPA/530-SW-88-014.
How To Set Up A Local Used Oil Recycling
Program
An easy-to-follow manual for local decision-makers,
environmental groups, and community organizations.
EPA/530-SW-89-039A.
Reusable News
A quarterly newsletter featuring information on solid waste
management. Contains news on solid waste activities,
conferences, Capitol Hill, and success stories from around
the nation. To be placed on the mailing list, call the RCRA
Hotline.
Publications are available at no
charge from the EPA RCRA
Hotline: 800-424-9346.
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Bulletin Board
Dateline RCRA... Update on Significant OSW/RCRA Rulemakings
& March 29,1990 (55 FR 11798):
This rule modifies and replaces the
Extraction Procedure (EP) Toxicity
Characteristic with the Toxicity
Characteristic (TC). In this rule,
the Extraction Procedure (EP)
leach test is replaced by the
Toxicity Characteristic Leaching
Procedure (TCLP). TCLPisa
more accurate test for identifying
organic chemicals in wastes that
may seep (or "leach") into ground
water and cause environmental or
health damage. EPA estimates that
the rule will bring a significant
volume of "new" waste waters,
solid waste, sludge and a large
number of waste generators under
RCRA regulation for the first time.
Many treatment, storage and
disposal facilities will require new
or modified permits to manage
these TC wastes;
June 1,1990 (55 FR 22520): This
(the so-called "third third" rule) is the
last major rule in a series of rules that
restrict the land disposal of wastes
that were identified or listed as haz-
ardous as of November 8,1984, the
date of enactment of the Hazardous
and Solid Waste Amendments
(HSWA) to RCRA. It also sets land
disposal restrictions for all the
characteristic wastes. The effect of
the rule is to prohibit the land disposal
of untreated hazardous wastes. It sets
forth levels or methods of treatment
that diminish waste toxicity or
substantially reduce the migration of
hazardous constituents from the waste
into the environment.
WJuly 27,1990 (55 FR 30798):
This proposed corrective action
rule lays the framework for
conducting clean-up activities
under the RCRA permitting
program. The clean-up steps
established in the rule are
patterned after those in the
Superfund program.
Contact:
Susan Jones
OSW State Programs Branch
(202)475-9857
• Assisting Tribes by providing information
regarding EPA programs, responding to
requests and assuming an advocacy role for
Tribes within the Regional Office; and
Raising Tribal concerns within the Regional
and Headquarters Offices regarding the im-
plementation of environmental programs in
Indian Country.
Names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the
Regional Indian Coordinators are included in an insert to
this issue of the Native American Network.
Contact: Roccena Lawatch, Indian Coordinator, Region
IX (415) 556-5072
NowYdiuKnowL.
The United States generates 180 million tons of
solidwaste each year—enough to fill a convoy of
trucks that would stretch halfway tothemoon.
Tribes in Arizona Meet to Discuss
Solid and Hazardous Waste Issues
The Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc. (ITCA) is an
organization of 19 Tribes in the State of Arizona. ITCA
provides technical assistance to its member Tribes in develop-
ing the capability to provide safe drinking water and to manage
waste water and solid waste. ITCA also works with Tribes in
Arizona developing and administering pesticide regulatory
programs through a Cooperative Agreement with ITCA.
Earlier this year, ITCA, EPA Region IX, and the Indian
Health Service's (IHS) Office of Environmental Health,
Phoenix Area, co-sponsored a workshop on the management of
solid and hazardous waste and underground storage tanks.
Following is a brief recap of the meeting.
Steve Dodge, representing EPA Region V, noted that EPA
has dealt with Tribes as "municipalities" under RCRA. This
policy has limited the ability of Tribes to participate in RCRA
waste management programs in the past. Dodge indicated that
currently there is little information available on Tribes' solid
and hazardous waste needs. It is clear, however, that there is a
significant need for funds, training, and technical assistance.
4
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Apcsanahkwat, former Tribal Chairman of the |
Mcnomince (Wisconsin), described the development of the :
Tribe's RCRA program. Like Menominee, many Tribes
may not have treatment, storage, and disposal facilities
(TSDFs), but may have problems with transport of \
hazardous waste through reservation land. Menominee has
developed a partial RCRA program to regulate hazardous !
waste transportation across reservation lands. The program
includes Tribal regulations and administrative procedures j
that provide for the participation of non-Indians.
E
Vcrnon Seukteoma, representing the IHS, discussed the |
development of the Hopi Tribal solid waste plan. He :
stressed the importance of working with the community in
the planning process and presented a step-by-step process I
for community participation. Rod Lewis, representing the
Gila River Indian Community, said that the community I
responded to 12 hazardous waste incidents, including illegal :
dumping, in 1989. The Tribe initially had difficulty in
getting assistance from EPA, IHS, and BIA, as well as the
State of Arizona in dealing with the cleanup of hazardous
waste incidents. Lewis emphasized the need for Tribes,
EPA, and the State to work out generic protocols for |
responding to hazardous waste incidents. ;
I
After presentations from EPA staff on RCRA programs !
in Region IX, meeting participants agreed that Tribes must I
participate fully in RCRA programs. To meet this goal,
Tribes need to develop solid waste and hazardous waste j
management programs and appropriate training. j
i
Contact: Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc., Phoenix, AZ \
(602)248-0071
LEGAL NOTES
Use of the Citizen Suit Provision
Of RCRA
Section 7002 of RCRA allows anyone, including a
Native American individual or Tribe, to file a civil law suit
in Federal district court against anyone else, including a
corporation, who is alleged to be in violation of any
requirement of RCRA. This means that even a Tribe
without a RCRA program delegated from U.S. EPA can
"enforce" RCRA requirements for solid and hazardous
waste, such as the prohibition against open dumping, by
filing a law suit in Federal court and asking the court to
order compliance with the Act.
When the alleged violation concerns hazardous waste
and takes place within reservation boundaries (whether trust
or fee lands), on other land under the Tribe's jurisdiction, or
within a State without an authorized RCRA program, or
concerns open dumping of solid waste, the Tribe can seek
enforcement of Federal standards contained in RCRA itself
Hot Off the Hotline...
RCRA Q's and A's. ... The Native
American Network answers the questions most fre-
quently asked of EPA's RCRA Hotline.
Q. Can small quantity generators establish satellite
accumulation areas according to 40 CFR 262.34(c)
for their hazardous waste?
A. Yes. Small quantity generators or SQGs
(generators of 100-1000 kilograms of hazardous
waste per month) may accumulate nonacute
hazardous waste in satellite areas without having to
comply with the storage requirements of 40 CFR
262.34(d). A satellite area is defined as a place
where waste is generated in an industrial process or
lab and is initially accumulated prior to removal to
a central area.
However, SQGs must comply with the provisions
of40CFR262.34(c). These provisions include
labelling and use and management requirements
for containers. (51 PR 10146, March 24,1986)
Q. A used oil exhibits the characteristic of EP
Toxicity. Is the use of the used oil for dust
suppression or road treatment prohibited?
A. Yes, Used oil applied to or placed on land which is
contaminated with hazardous waste is prohibited
from use as a dust suppressant. In this situation,
I- „ j, ; EPA considers used oil a recyclable material that
is used in a manner constituting disposal (see 40
CFR 266.23(b)). It is important to note that ignit-
able used oil does not fall under this prohibition.
Note: Fact sheets on RCRA regulations are avail-
able from the RCRA Hotline, (800) 424-9346.
Contact: Susan Jones, OSW State Programs
Branch, (202) 475-9857
or in the regulations in 40 CFR Parts 240 to 299. If the
alleged hazardous waste rule violation occurs on land
subject to the jurisdiction of an authorized State, the Tribe
can seek enforcement of the State rules. Any citizen suit
(even to enforce authorized State standards) is brought in the
Federal district court for the district in which the alleged
violation occurs.
A party bringing a suit to enforce hazardous waste
requirements can seek civil penalties payable to the United
States of up to $25,000 per day per RCRA violation. It is
important to know that a citizen suit normally requires 60
days prior notice to the U.S. EPA, the alleged violator, and
the State (if within State jurisdiction).
Contact: Marc M. Radell, Associate Regional Counsel for
American Indian Affairs, Region V (312) 886-7948
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